Too Burdened To Be Thankful by Mary Folkerts

 

It was Thanksgiving weekend, and my list of things to be thankful for should have been long, given the many ways God had blessed me. But honestly, I wasn't focused on my blessings, and my heart felt heavy. Thanksgiving wasn't my first response to the holiday.

Sunday morning, the pastor said words that gripped my attention: words about thanksgiving and comparison, and how they are incompatible. It got me thinking that when I get stuck in a comparison trap, discontentment brews and festers, overflowing into my life like a stew of rotten tomatoes, but when I have a thankful spirit, peace floods me like an engulfing hug.That afternoon, before we enjoyed a bountiful Thanksgiving meal with friends and family, my husband opened the Bible to a fitting passage to read, but Reegan, our daughter with Down Syndrome, had already beat him to it. She had her folded paper beside her plate, written with the words she wanted to share. She had chosen these words from Matthew 11:28-30, "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" (NIV).

Honestly, there are times I feel she has a special connection to the heart of God, bringing blessing and holy conviction to those around her.

Some might not consider this an appropriate Thanksgiving passage, but the words spoke deeply to my heart. It seemed like a prelude and a benediction for a thankful spirit! You see, it's hard to be grateful when the heart is weary and burdened with all the worries of the world stacked high to the point of toppling. If we refuse to open our clenched fists, grasping instead to our heavy load as though it were mined treasure, comparison, anxiety and discontentment cloud our vision of the blessings right in front of us.

We are anxious because we try to control circumstances that are not ours to control. We quickly compare another's seemingly easy life with our own difficulties, unaware of the other's hardships. If these anxieties and comparisons are the filters through which we view life, we will end up discontented instead of thankful.

But as we come to Jesus daily, speaking our burdens to him and laying them at his feet as they roll from our heavy hearts onto his capable shoulders, we find rest and room for a thankful spirit to bloom where worry once took up too much space. And when thankfulness grows and flourishes, it chokes out anxiety, comparison, and discontentment.

As I write these words, I am reminded that this posture of open hands fits well with our writing journey. We can feel anxiety rise within us when timelines and rejection letters leave us feeling defeated. Comparison makes us feel behind, and thankfulness is hard to see, but as my editor reminds me, "It's all in God's perfect timing!"

Do burdens cloud your vision of God's goodness? Speak them to Jesus, and keep bringing them to him, knowing that he can bring rest and, ultimately, thankfulness to your anxious soul.

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a member of Proverbs 31 Ministries' COMPEL Writers Training, involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/