An easy yoke

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11: 28-30).

How do you take on Jesus’ light burden in motherhood when you’re needed for so much?

By loving Him first. Before the kids, before the husband, before the extended family, and yes, before the church.

His yoke is the yoke of forgiveness. I am forgiven and loved and cherished. I don’t need to prove myself to Him, He loves me as I am through and through. There is deep rest in His presence and He doesn’t leave me the way I am. Relentlessly He forgives, nourishes, convicts, and guides me to become who He made me to be. I take His yoke of being His child and LET Him carry me along through the dry, exhausting places of motherhood.

Time alone with Him. In awe of Him. Talking to Him. Listening to Him. Prayer is a conversation.

I am yoked with the Creator of everything. Who do you think is pulling more weight? I let Him. It’s the day that I don’t — when I take over and slip into the yoke without Him — that I am crushed and overwhelmed.

And there are many others — husband, friends, church family — they all are part of being in the yoke of Jesus. They are part of Him lightening my load.

I let them help me. Namely, my husband. He doesn’t do things the way I would. He burns the chili he made, is sometimes too strict and forgets to brush the kids’ hair. That’s ok. He goes overboard — reorganizing and labeling my closets when he’s putting the linens away. I let it go because having him there making chili, correcting the girls, helping them get out the door, and caring about our home is gold to me. I don’t need him to be perfect because I’m far from it. I just need a partner, and I have one. I’ve learned to lean on this imperfect man. And we’re both better for it.

I’m learning to know when I need a friend to come alongside. How to ask for connection when I need it. Learning to be vulnerable and honest with the people close to me.

I’m part of a local church that I benefit from AND feel responsibility for. When I isolate myself, I cut myself off from the nourishment of Christian fellowship.

Then and only then, once I am filled with His love in so many ways — and loving Him back — do I start my “doing,” which is a lot. Only when I am full of Him is my doing not wearying to me.

He diffuses the shame I feel for not being enough as a mom. Worldly guilt leads to death, godly guilt brings conviction and confession. He reminds me to exercise and keep my body well. He encourages me to meet with other Christians on Sunday and throughout the week — we strengthen each other. He gives me the joy I need to keep my work from being dry. And so on.

Busy does not equal holy or important or valuable. This - this, I'm learning. It's so hard for me to not see my service as my value. It isn't. Sometimes, often, its ok to just opt out for the sake of myself or family's sanity.

Like rocks, pebbles, and sand fit in a container only in that order, so also our lives fit only in the correct order: God first, then everything and everyone else.

I carry my needs to Him. Because I do none of this perfectly. Or regularly. I am a faltering, forgetful, normal woman. I have a hormonal cycle, physical and genetic problems, and a short fuse. I have limits and sin and plain old humanness. But I am not achieving some goal. I’m just working on loving Him day by day and cherishing Him well. And every day His mercy is new for me…because yesterday was far from perfect.

And every day His burden is light because we pull it together, and when I look back, He did all the work.