Coffee? Tea? Serenity?

A phenomenal event took place in my life recently. This event took place on a day that was not a very joyous one. In fact, I had spent most of that particular day in tears and in prayer. It was one of those days when you simply cannot see the “light” at the end of the tunnel. It was one of those days that you turn to God and say to Him, “Why?”…even though we know we shouldn’t. It was one of those days that I really needed a messenger from God. The phenomenal event took place in the same hour that I spoke a prayer asking God to show me what HE was doing in this particular situation. The phenomenal event took place in HIS perfect timing.

I answered a phone call from a friend of mine. She was phoning me to share something that she was very joyous and excited about. Even though there was no joy in my heart at that very moment, I wanted to hear her out so I listened carefully. She shared with me that she had just taken a picture with her digital camera and could not wait to get home to send the photo to me. She was actually quite surprised at the high level of excitement that such a minute event in her day could bring to her, but because of it she felt she had to phone me. As I listed to her story, it became quite evident that it was God who had placed every perfect subject in her photo. It was God who had ordered the perfect timing of the events that brought on her excitement.

She began her story by telling me of the scenarios that built up to her photo. As she was out and about in her work day, which involves taking digital photos, she looked down to see a white feather scooting across the concrete patio. It was not floating through the air as a feather normally does, but it was scooting with a steady, slow speed. This feather was approximately one to one and one-half inch in size. Her curiosity caused her to take a closer look. When she did, she said that the most profound message rested upon her heart. What she saw was a very tiny ant carrying the feather. The feather was enormous compared to the very tiny ant. While watching in awe as this took place, the message that rested upon her heart was, “no matter how heavy your burdens seem to be, when you give them to Me, I can make them light-weight”.

Upon hearing those words, my burdens immediately became lighter. I could literally feel the heaviness in my heart begin to fade. That heaviness was being replaced with peace. I thanked my good friend for calling to share her story with me, and I shared with her just how very important the message and the timing were. Later that day, she emailed me the photo. By that time, I could no longer feel the weight of the burdens that had brought tears and heartache in the earlier part of my day. By that time, I was able to smile at the beauty of the photo and to praise God for His unfailing love for me. I was able to thank Him for sending me the message and the messenger at a time when I needed them most.

God really does receive our burdens. He cannot do that until we cast them to Him. It has to be a conscience choice made by us. He really does take them from us and takes care of them on our behalf. On the particular day mentioned above, I was reminded that many years ago I had cast my worries to God relating to the very subject that was causing me tears. The story of the ant made me recall that I had already cast those cares to Him. The story of the ant helped me to realize that once I have cast them, I should not take them back. The story of the ant helped me to see just how much the Lord has sustained me through all the years following the day that I placed my burdens within His hands and trusted that He would take care of them in His perfect ways.

Psalm 55: 22 – Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you