“My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:30
I arrived at training camp with ten arms open wide. We were waiting on our seventh team member, then our team would be united! We spent the night at UNCOI State Park at what is known as the “Squirrels Nest.”
We woke up Monday morning to grieve and were asked to talk to God about what He would want us to grieve, a normal process we, as Americans, tend to ignore. Our team mourned things as small as not going to the high school prom to as large as a close friend’s death. We went through this time of personal grievances and came through feeling like encumbrances were lifted – for God says, “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
We traveled to trail head at the bottom of a mountain and were challenged to find an item that would symbolize a “weight” we were carrying, so we could lay it at the bottom of the cross. I carried a stick representing the leadership. I laid every lesson of leadership I have learned, every gift of leadership I have been given, and any fears I may have in leading at the cross. I asked God to have complete control in this area. I know God has called me and anointed me to be a servant-leader to my team, and through this exercise, I was able to “let go and let GOD.” That night, we were asked to “burn bridges” that we want God to completely take away and not let us have it back. As a log burnt across our bonfire, I asked God to take the ability to use my leadership for my own needs/desires, the ability to try to control/figure out my future, and fearing the world of finances. My theme has been TRUSTING God with EVERYTHING!
I challenge you to ask God to help you grieve your losses. Then, I challenge you to give up “anything” weighing you down and release it to Him by laying it at the cross. For Christ promises that “His burden is light.” After you release it, ask God to never allow you to take it back in your own control.
