Devotion
Come To Me
Frances Taylor

Just for a moment – before you continue to read – close your eyes and hear Jesus saying to you, "Come to me, and I will give you rest." Did you do it? Or did you just keep reading to see what I was going to say next? If you did, how did you feel? Could you feel your shoulders relaxing? Your breathing slow?

There is a story that circulates the internet every once in a while about the man who always stops at the tree outside his home when he returns from work and then again in the morning before he head off. When asked what that was all about, he says that he leaves the cares of the day at the tree instead of carrying them into his home so that he can be at peace in his home and with his family.

Jesus is telling us today, that he is willing to shoulder our load all the time, not just at the end of a sometimes frustrating and often tiring day. He willingly takes on our burdens. Why is it that we think we have to go it alone? I know some very caring people who will go out of their way to help a stranger, let alone a friend. However, they never think that someone would be willing to help them and so they struggle alone. It's too bad that we think that the "buddy system" is only for children. Have you noticed? Children in a line always go two by two. Why shouldn't adults? Look around you. There are those who need someone to pray for them, to help them carry their burdens, and there are those who will gladly pray for you and help you to carry yours. Jesus is inviting us. All he asks is that we come.

Prayer

Lord, when we feel burdened, may we turn to you for you are more than ready to help us carry our cross. Amen.