Weavings

The festivals of Advent and Christmastide have passed. The rich smells and candlelight that filled the darkness of winter nights is absent, leaving me to deeply feel the damp, cold days of January.

While the sparkle of December filled my mind with delight, the stark landscape around me today—the low clouds, empty trees, and fog clinging to the river—offer no distraction from the concerns and worries I carry.

The winds force me indoors. I am quieted. I must listen.

And in the silence, I hear my doubts and fears clearly, echoing loudly on the bare canyon walls. But just as panic threatens to take hold, I feel warmth, a gentle nudge. Another path is illuminated. I need not hurry to disguise or drown out my cares. But neither am I forced to bend beneath their weight. Instead, surrender.

I let the full force of life’s burdens wash over me without resisting, simply feeling. “Cast your cares upon the Lord, for God care for you.” Though I encounter a heavy load at times on my path, I need not stoop to lift it up. God calls me to follow, but promises that the yoke is easy and the burden is light. For Another shoulders the burden.

Let the new year come. I’ll not clutter it with resolutions and noise.  I resolve only to rest in the One who cares for me and to invite others into that Holy rest as well.