Too Many Clothes

The rail in my wardrobe has broken.

 

I heard an unidentifiable crash a few evenings ago and now have a clothes rail which is hanging at an acute angle.  I have tried to screw it back in place, but I think I need some heavy duty toolmanship to properly sort the problem.

 

Of course, it would be easy to assume I have too many clothes and therefore ought to sort through them and decrease my wardrobe.

 

However, I hope instead to find someone with an electric drill who can help to re-establish the rail and restore harmony to my wardrobe.

 

Sometimes in life, I have too much in my wardrobe, too.  I am trying to carry too many things, or deal with too many things, and the 'rails' bend and break from the strain.

 

But Jesus tells us that we don't need to carry a heavy load.  In fact, if we follow Him, we have an easy load to bear:

"Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

 

[Matthew 11:28-30 NLT] 

 

And in another translation,

 

"I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

 

[Matthew 11:30 MSG]

 

Often, we try to cram too much into our 'wardrobes'.  We hold onto things that no longer fit or suit us.  We can't bear to part with our old outfits.  And we do it because it feels safe and comfortable.  We would rather have too much and feel secure, than have an empty wardrobe and wonder who we are.

 

But we weren't made to carry a heavy burden.  We were made for a light load.  And when we try to carry or hold too much, we end up with broken rails.

 

I want to learn to accept Jesus' words and live freely and lightly in a spiritual sense.  But I think I'll keep the clothes.

 

 

 

 

Packing Light

I am not very good at packing.

Or rather, I am far too good at packing.  I pack for every eventuality and weather condition.  I pack wellies alongside my swimsuit; suncream and sunglasses alongside my umbrella. 

I am prepared for anything.

Except I am always over-prepared.  I never need everything that I have packed and I end up lugging all of that excess weight around with me. 

And it is tiring.

I am going away tomorrow and have challenged myself to 'pack lightly'.  I have managed this once before (very successfully I might add), but it makes me feel really uncomfortable.  I don't like the feeling of being 'unprepared' or 'underprepared' for things.

I do the same in life sometimes as well.  I try to prepare myself for every eventuality or outcome.  I plan for different situations and 'carry' them around with me 'just in case'.

And that is tiring too.

Jesus knew our tendency to 'overpack' in life and to carry too much around with us - especially those things that we were never meant to carry.  He urged us to lay down our heavy bags and take up His light load instead:

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” 
[Matthew 11:28-29 NLT]

When we pick up the load that Jesus gives us, we find that it is manageable and easy to bear.  We don't have to lug around our past mistakes or our failed dreams; we don't have to bear grudges or the sins of others; we don't have to carry our guilt or our shame; we don't have to carry the thoughts of who we 'ought' to be or who we thought we could be.

We don't have to carry more than we need to.

We can give all of those things to Jesus and take His 'yoke' which is easy to bear - a yoke of grace and forgiveness and love and acceptance.

Let's accept Jesus' 'yoke' and learn to pack light.