I don’t usually forward emails I get from people, especially those that say that I must, BUT … I got the following from Barbara Brown and it is right on. So let me share part of it with you:

          A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight actually doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call me an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.

“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”

What great advice! And we have the added blessing of being able to turn those burdens over to God, who never gets tired, and then often, we never have to pick them up again.  Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). What an invitation, but how often do we take him up on it?  Not often enough. Do you have some stress you would like to unburden yourself of?  Would you like to live a life less stressful and more joyful?

Barb’s email included some ways to deal with the burdens of life.  I have included some others I have picked up along the way:

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. (Obviously, I like that one!)
* Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
* God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

* Laugh every day, it’s like inner jogging.

* As a child of God, prayer is like calling home every day.

* Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.

* He who dies with the most toys, is still dead.

* It is all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again.  Just be sure to flush when you are done.

* Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

* We are continually faced with great opportunities disguised as unsolvable problems.

          I sincerely hope that this month is a month where you are able to turn some of that which wears you down, that which tires you out, that which keeps you from fully experiencing joy – over to God.  And whatever you don’t want to turn over to him – bring it to me!

          God is good – all the time!  Be blessed, my friends. And as always, I’ll see you on Sunday.

          Pastor Tom