Cast Your Burden

“Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55:22

David wrote this Psalm in light of friends who had turned on him. His heart was “severely pained” and he wanted to fly away and escape (vs. 4-8).

Are you in a time of pain and hardship? Are you facing struggles with relationships, or another hard trial? Maybe you wish you could escape it and be removed from the challenges.

Amidst your hardship, cry out to the Lord as David did. Cast your burdens upon the Lord - tell Him your struggles, ask Him for help and comfort. Receive His help and comfort by reading His Word.

Our God is so merciful and understanding. He is kinder than we are, more gentle and longsuffering than we are. He has exactly what we need, when we need it.

“No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11b).

First, may I point out - we are to be right before Him. Ask Him to expose sins, and then repent quickly. Be done with the sin and move on with His forgiveness.

Second - what you have, He has deemed good. What you don’t have, He has also deemed good. The struggle you are facing? It is for your good. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). If you love Him, every season of life is for your good and His glory. Trust this promise with childlike faith; trust it simply.

Third - ask. Ask, and let Him guide you with what to ask. Sometimes we know we need to come before Him in prayer but we don’t know what to say. Go anyway, dear friend. He will not turn you away. In humility, be liberal in your asking of Him. In time He will turn your focus exactly where it needs to be, and you will see His lovingkindness toward you.

“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 36:7).

Let Me Tell You a Story - Part 3

I requested information from yet another adoption agency, praying it would be straightforward. Emails came, info came, phone call came.

It costs HOW MUCH?

We prayed. It didn’t sit right and we had to walk away.

I got online and started researching again. What other options are there? How could we make this work?

We debated over foster care, wanting to provide a healthy home but not sure we could handle the constant change. Attaching and detaching. Dealing with the State and a corrupt system. But it would cost a lot less, and we could foster to adopt…we’d help the children we could until some needed a permanent home, and then we’d be readily available.

We dove into licensing. Instead of driving an hour to do group training, we watched countless videos at home while the world shut down with covid. Will we even have children to foster? Abusers being stuck at home with children…the number of reports being filed lessened. Maybe we were getting into it for such a time as this.

A year of work went by, and then it all fell apart. No license. No prospect.

I cried, and dove harder into researching. Why is it so dang hard to adopt a child?

God knew our pain. And as frustrating as it was to be back at the start, we knew fostering wasn’t the direction we needed to go. We regrouped and kept praying. My hands loosened their grip as I had to face what I knew in my mind: I’m not in control. He is.

---

“We’re going to send you right over to the ER,” the nurse announced upon re-entry. “I talked with the doctor and it’s best.”

My face isn’t great at hiding shock.

“Okay,” I reached over and got my purse. “They’ll be expecting me?”

“Yes. We just can’t take a chance with your heart.”

I walked over to another section of the medical buildings and checked in again. My shaking hands typed out texts to family…won’t be home for the kids as soon as I thought, hope this doesn’t affect your plans.

Tests, labs, questions. Some questions from me, some from them.

EKG was fine. Bloodwork was fine.

Everything was fine.

“You sure you’re not anxious?” they asked. “Maybe you need therapy.”

“Well at this second, yeah, I am” I answered. “But when the episodes happen, I’m not.”

“Mmmhmm. Well, you’re healthy. There’s not much else we can do for you.”

Out I walked, again. Everything fine, again. Must be anxiety…but I knew it wasn’t. It didn’t make sense.

---

Lord, please let us adopt.

How many times had I asked Him over the years? Countless - yet He knew.

No after no after no, either we would throw in the towel or dig in deeper. We continued to pray; surely He would allow us to do something after His own heart. Right?

A friend shared something about adoption on Facebook, and instead of scrolling again I stopped and thought. Maybe she would know what to do, or which agency to use?I

We talked and she shared how wonderful her experience had been. I asked many questions, a bit pessimistically, waiting for it to be a no-go. Something had to give, it seemed so straightforward.

Josh and I talked about it and I sent an email requesting more info.

To our surprise, it was as good as it sounded. Straightforward, simple, based on the Scripture. And if we wanted, we could get a discount if we signed on within 30 days.

Well that’s a no-brainer.

But Josh agonized over it, being convinced on one hand and hesitant about timing on the other. He asked God to make it clear to us whether we should jump in or wait and make up the financial difference another time. He asked that if it was God’s will, He would provide him with a raise or some other long-term way to continue providing for our family.

It’s not a prayer I’ve ever heard my husband say. But I smiled, and waited to see what would happen.

Friday came, and we needed to make a decision by the following Monday. Lord, what would You have us do? Please honor his prayer, we will do what You want.

Josh brought home dinner so I didn’t have to cook. Then he pulled me aside.

“You can call and say we’re in,” he said.

“What??”

“I got a raise,” he grinned.

Down to the last minute. And what a smidge of a raise it was; it was like the Lord saying, “Jump in, and trust Me.”

That Saturday we made a payment and signed on with a wonderful adoption consulting agency. After years of waiting, we finally had an answer.

Thank You, Lord!!

…to be continued…

Read Part 1 and Part 2

Finding Your Tribe

Lord, please bring me women I can do life with!

I’ve prayed this prayer so many times. But He has seen it best that I don’t have a “tribe.” Year after year, I meet people and watch people leave. Some friends I talk to more than others, but the ride-or-dies, the tribe - it hasn’t formed.

God has heard my prayers, and He has patiently and faithfully taught me.

Play date after play date, get-together after get-together, I would enter and run a mental checklist. You know the kind - is she in the same season of life? does she parent like me? is she too ___? does she care about ___? is her hair naturally that color? can’t be, she must spend a bazillion dollars on self-care…

In my desperation to find “the right” friends, I pushed many away (mentally) because they didn’t “fit.” But I have since learned that I shouldn’t treat people like prospective employees, because the business of filtering friendships is not really a thing. At least, it’s not a Godly thing!

People come and go in our lives; different people come in different seasons. None of this is unknown to God - in fact, He knows who we will learn from and grow with at each point in our lives! Instead of trying to create a group of women we think are perfect for our lives, what if we look around at who God has already introduced us to?

I have found that putting my mental checklist aside does wonders. Without those expectations, I am free to love and care about each woman God brings into my life. I am free to treat them as I want to be treated, and I am free to not worry when they don’t reciprocate.

As important as friendships are, we cannot put our faith in them. Other women cannot be our end-all, our ultimate quest in life. We will be disappointed time after time! God gives us the right people at the right times in our lives because He knows best who we need to learn from, and who will learn from us.

Friendships are important; living life solo isn’t preferable. Yet it’s really all about Him - surprise! Have you ever had someone come into your life and teach you an invaluable lesson, simply by being themselves? God uses us to teach each other and point each other to Himself. We learn more about Him and His goodness through each other, which makes sense since we all are made in His image.

I have had many women come into my life at various stages. Some are decades older, and we have remained close over many years. I have gained much wisdom from these women! Some have been in the same season of motherhood, and we have learned to appreciate each other because our children enjoy playing together. Some friendships fit naturally, and some take more work. Some women are good friends I’ve met in very unique ways, and yet we live hundreds and thousands of miles apart.

There is so much beauty in how God crosses paths and leads people to meet each other. There will never be one person who can be all the things for you - only Jesus can fill that role.

Let yourself and others off the hook! Take the women He puts in front of you, of all ages, and get to know them. Be more interested in how you can serve them than how they can serve you. Doing so will allow you some of the richest, worry-free friendships!

If the Lord brings a group of women around you that you are able to share much of life with, praise Him for that! Keep your eyes open to still connect with those who aren’t in your group. If the Lord does not bring you a tight-knit group of women, praise Him for that too and don’t stress over it!

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

Psalm 136:1

It sounds simple, and it is - take who He gives you and be thankful for them. Amen!

Our Desperate Need

My prayers have been scattered lately.

I don’t remember how long life has been quarantined, how many ebbs and flows this all has had. But I feel pulled with the tide. In, out. In, out.

As I tuck my kids in and watch the dog settle into sleep, I think all is well. It’s all going to be okay, normal life will come eventually.

Yet I know that’s not true. “Normal” as we knew it won’t be the same “normal” after this.

Lord, when will this end?

Lord, how can people treat each other this horribly?

Lord, what is Your will with all of this?

I find myself praying for simple things, like kind cashiers and enough toilet paper. And then there are deeper things; show me, Lord, how to be a faithful witness to You through all of this; protect my children from this hatred.

Humanity is lost. Every day news stories emerge that drop my jaw and sink my heart. And we are scrambling to make sense of it all, following click-bait and jumping to conclusions and trying to make everyone think like we do.

I watch and I am amazed - this global pandemic has brought out the worst in us. It has brought out so much hatred, so much selfishness. All the inner things of the heart…well, here they are on display.

It isn’t surprising though. Romans tells us, “…there is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12). All have sinned (3:23). And now, as things are tough for everyone, it all is coming out.

God is sanctifying me. I want to hide in fear; I want to give way to worry over my kids and their future, over the instability of life as I know it. I want to throw fists verbally, give quick responses to people who are wrong or rude to me and my kids. I want to sit everyone down and make it all stop. Yet none of these responses is glorifying to my Lord, and so He reminds me over and over again.

If He has convinced me of anything through this, it’s that the entire world needs the Gospel. There is no policy that will solve things, no government official that will bring perfection, no way of human reasoning that will make people change their evil deeds.

Do you see it too?

Only God can change hearts. Only He can take a sinner, like He did with myself, and make that sinner righteous by the blood of His Son. We can’t do it - we can’t make ourselves good. Only Jesus Christ can make good out of someone inherently evil. Only Jesus can save this world and make things right. How desperately we need Him.

Bringing others to think like we do, act like we do, talk like we do - it isn’t a worthy goal, even if we think we’re doing it after God’s will. The worthy goal is pointing people to Jesus Christ, pointing them to the Bible to be changed by the perfect, unchanging God.

I want to encourage you, sisters in Christ, to be in the Word daily. Read it consistently, let it change you. Go to it to be shaped more and more like your Lord. This is a beautiful thing. And may I challenge you… you have no time for other extracurricular things if you are not in His Word.

I’ve mentioned this particular reading plan before, and I am happily mentioning it again because it has been so fruitful in my life (and the lives of many other women). The Bible Reading Challenge is a wonderful plan to follow for reading through Scripture. We are about to start the summer plan; you can find all the info here. It is solely Scripture, no additives. Whether you jump in with this plan or follow something else, prioritize reading your Bible.

What the world needs most right now is Christians following Christ. I’m praying for you and rooting for you in your walk with Him!

- Amy