“You are the salt of the earth.” Mt. 5:13a
“You are the light of the world.” Mt. 5:14a
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
-Matthew 11:30 (NRSV)
When I re-wrote my Confirmation creed as a young adult I used the Japanese haiku structure as my model:
God in love attends
By grace Jesus Christ defends
Holy Spirit sends
The impactful simplicity of this style of poetry challenged me to try and release as many of the descriptive phrases and words that helped me verbalize my understanding of the Holy Trinity. The exercise encouraged me to hang on to what mattered most—in the way I understood God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. Through the hard work I was able to claim what was mine and let go of what was not. It made me feel fuller—not emptied.
We are constantly bombarded with information and things to “fill us.” From social media posts, written material, ads, movies, and more. And that is just “mind food”—there’s also all of the “body food” that is available—from what we eat and drink to what we wear.
Sometimes we can empty ourselves of “baggage,” and sometimes we have to choose to simply consume less—take in and take on less.
We can certainly be more particular about our choices.
By choosing less we can train our minds and hearts to live more abundantly in the simplicity of our own choices. This will allow us to be more open and available to words of wisdom, stories of inspiration, the needs of a friend, and the voice of God.
We can be more present in the moments that matter most.
Take time to unburden yourself a bit. Lighten you load so that, in life’s journey, you can travel with “carry-on” baggage and not the big stuff. You won’t miss the stuff—and the world will be blessed by more of YOU.
May the mercy and love of God be with you and fill you today, this week and all the days to come.
Chapel Hill Youth Virtual Connection Opportunities:
Sunday Worship @ 930 AM & 1100 AM CLICK HERE
Sunday School @ 1100 AM CLICK HERE TO JOIN
D-groups (discipleship mid-week connection)
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT HOME @ 6P CLICK HERE
May the Lord bless you and keep you, May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Shalom. -Numbers 6: 24-26
God is Good. All the Time.
Heidi K. Greenwood Doell Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries