~ "Climb every mountain!!!"

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. (Matt 11:29)

We have all heard the stories of the rich man who dresses in rags and spends his time in the company of the homeless and the poor to see who is truly a good person, to see who will is worthy to inherit his wealth upon his death. Not too far off from the story of Christ, is it?

Here is a KING, who came to earth in human form, worked as a carpenter, associated with the lowliest of souls and promised them riches beyond their dreams! He has found in us, those people who will inherit his kingdom. We are not worthy, but we are invited! Once we've accepted his invitation to belong to a greater order of being, we cannot turn from him, for he is a part of us, in spirit, in body and in mind. We can become corrupted by false teachings and false religions and beliefs, yet God has a way to wash away all the inaccurate knowledge and the wrong practices we've been brainwashed with. He can renew is us his spirit of love and faith and devotion without our even realizing it. It takes time, sometimes it is longer than we anticipated. The end result is a brand new outlook on his plan for us: where our physical life is headed, the direction of our heart and soul and the successful accomplishment of our trials.

There is an Irish Blessing that reads like this: "May God give you...For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer." We all look for that rainbow. We all have laughed through our tears. We know we are blessed by our trials (if we are patient enough). We seek out the advice of friends in almost all we do. Joy does fill our hearts when we accomplish what we think we could not. God does, in fact, answer each and every prayer ~ "yes", "no", or "wait". If we take on the burdens of Christianity, we will learn to become stronger in Christ. His gentle touch and love will be our comfort when our work here is done. Our souls will rest securely in his presence and that alone, makes the burden of being a Christian worth it. We were never told it would be easy - only that it would be worth it!


(photo by Christina White)