Ever had a day so glorious you just can’t soak it all in and you’re still covered in golden family fairy dust at bedtime? I’m sitting in the lady den, snug in my feeted pajamas, (yeah it’s warm outside but it’s cold in my house) watching my little fireplace heater logs thinking of all the wonderful holiday memories with my family I’ve gathered to keep close in my heart, grateful for my loving family, and the wonderful little family Chief and I created.

Today, Christmas Day, could not have been anymore beautiful. Youngest son and I drove to Peachtree City to spend the day with my oldest son and his family. The children were all excited to show us what Santa had left them under the tree. We had the nicest day. The kids are growing up but they still had the Christmas morning Santa Claus excitement. So did I! This day was full of joy for me and I gathered more memories to keep close in my heart.

The sky was full of rolling clouds on the way up, grays and purples, and white shades of clouds traveling quickly across the horizon. I was wondering if Father Sky was having trouble with his sky canvas this morning. I loved all the different colors in the clouds. We rode home watching groups of clouds floating on the blue sky canvas like schools of gray bellied fish. The sun was setting on our way home, a huge yellow ball rolling down the horizon.

Been reading quotes tonight. Came across a few I liked enough to mark the page with a scrap of paper. “Ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders,” Jewish Proverb. Burdens are things in our lives that are very difficult to accept or to deal with. We all have times in our lives when our burdens are just too heavy to carry alone. God will take those burdens off your shoulders and transfer them to his. His broad shoulders can carry the tiniest of worries to the heaviest of life’s complications. My mother was always telling me God doesn’t give us more than we can carry. I’d complain and say my load was too heavy to carry and that I was stumbling around. She’d always remind me that God was walking beside me helping me carry the weight.

Sometimes we have to wait patiently for God to help us carry the load. Sometimes we have to wait for God to show us where to put down the load we’re carrying. Sometimes we have to pray on blended knee to transfer the weight to God’s shoulders. Think God’s not helping you, look for his footsteps in the sand. Listen to the last stanza from the poem Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson — The Lord replied: “My precious child, I love you and would never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” I think that’s a beautiful sentiment. God has helped me up, walked beside me, and carried my troubles many times.

Psalm 55:22 reads, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” We can cast our cares on the Lord’s shoulder and he will give us peace. God also want us to help others with their burdens. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Just sincerely listening and sympathizing with someone can removed the weight of their burdens and give them peace.

There are so many things in our life that weigh us down, so many things that are inevitable and out of our control. God allows us to struggle to bring us closer to him. We can pray for peace in our lives and through our prayers and thanksgivings put our worries in God’s hands. Philippians 4:6-7 reads, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

With sincere prayer and trust in God’s grace, our faith can turn our struggles over to God. We don’t have to carry our burdens alone. God will give us peace.

“The burden becomes light that is shared by love.” — Ovid