Somewhere along the way, images of bony fingers clasping Starbucks and women hurrying to nowhere inspired us to over-caffeinate and get busier.

Fictional moms sold us the message that however we’re doing life, it’s wrong.

We stopped laughing, demonized ice cream, and hashtagged ourselves #failure.

We traded in what works for us for what works for them—and it isn’t working.

The accusing, the stampede, the distractedness—are unwelcome in the lives of people who hear God’s invitation to minister out of inner peace.

It’s time to breathe, to answer honestly, to smile, to stop feeling guilty for being alive.

We are the Resurrection People, followers of the Prince of Peace. We are grateful, and messy, and God is for us.

 

…If God is for us, who can be against us?

~ Romans 8:31

 

My mentor once told me that when something seemingly good begins to feel like an unnecessary burden, I might be wearing someone else’s yoke.

Anything that steals our peace, that steals our joy, is anti-Jesus…Anti-Christ.

Sometimes when things come up missing, my husband asks if I donated it.

It’s possible, because living in a 1200 sq.ft. house, I delight in purging things we don’t need. We don’t have room for things we feel obligated to keep.

The same is true in life.

Unhealthy friendships, projects and ministries we’ve lost interest in, and goals other people set for us, sometimes waste valuable space and sap our energy for what God has in mind for us.

 

For we’re God’s masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good works that God prepared long ago to be our way of life.

~ Ephesians 2:10

 

It sounds a bit harsh, but if we’d just be brave and start telling people NO; set our lovely useless junk by the road for treasure hunters to find; and free up our time to do what makes us peaceful people for our families—that seems like a holy act to me.

Yesterday Bob Goff wrote, We can’t be new creations if everything stays the same. It’s Thursday, quit something.

Now it’s Friday. What can you quit or throw away to become a more peaceful person?

If it’s an idol, it will flail and scream as you sever it, but what brings joy to someone else just might be sucking the life out of you.

It might seem like a good thing, but what fruit does it produce in you?

If it makes you feel guilty, burdened, or anxious, or demands your time over things and people you truly love and prefer, then it needs to go without further ado.

I’m referring to first-world baggage, like unwanted gym memberships, study groups, dinging apps, standing appointments, unread books, committees, unfinished projects, piles in the garage, closets full of unused stuff—What once seemed like a great idea can end up being a heavy yoke that takes us away from what matters.

Resign.

Throw it away.

Donate it.

Delete it.

This isn’t a suggestion to quit your job without a back-up plan, or to simply not show up for your responsibilities, but you’d be surprised at the trivial things you’re carrying that you could let go of today.

Like the saying goes, we don’t know the weight of something we’ve been carrying until we feel the weight of its release.

Jesus said His burden is light and He came that we might have life to the fullest. God’s definition of living life to the fullest seems to mean being freed-up to love the people in front of us sincerely, fully present in the moment, as a person of peace.

Garbage day helps make that possible.

 

The things you carry are a heavy burden, a load even for weary beasts.

~ Isaiah 46:1

---

 

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.

~ Jesus

{Matthew 11:28-30}