Sunday Devotion- Lay Down Your Burden

Janet Rubin

In author David Teem's devotional book, To Live is Christ, he says this concerning childhood:

"We were artists then, without the burden of art."

That line really hit me. How true! When we were children, art was the slippery feel of fingerpaint, a fistfull of playdough or mud, the intoxicating scent of Elmer's Glue. Or the endless possibilities presented by a new set of Crayola crayons- twenty-four hues neatly packed in a box, paper sleeves not yet peeled away, pointy heads not broken, and waiting to create pink iguanas, purple cows, or periwinkle giraffes... and of course stick-figure people (girls in triangular dresses!) Art meant spending hours sculpting a sand castle that the sea would gobble up in the night. And pretending. We made up stories and acted them out long before our vocabularies included words like, "pronoun," "plot," or "publisher." Art used to be pure, undiluted fun.

And then we grew up. And discoved the "burden of art." We still make up stories, but now burdensome questions taint the fun of it. Is it good enough? Will it ever be good enough? Am I spending too much time on this? Not enough time? Can I make money doing this? And if not, should I bother writing stories at all? Am I making a fool of myself? It is okay to write what is in my heart?

Whoa. Those questions are heavy. Burdensome. Are they neccesary? Well, maybe, at least some of them, particularly if we are seeking publication. But need they be burdensome? Hmm.

We writers tend to be (in my opinion) introspective and largly idealistic. We are hard on ourselves and we have an enemy who specializes in confusion, discouragement, and fear. We will have worries and questions. If we don't don't know what to do with them, we will be burdened.

Paul gave some advice that applies here. Philipians 4:6-7 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

So we have a wonderful option. Like children, we can crawl into our Father's lap and pour out our hearts. We can tell him about all of our insecurities, worries, and difficult decisions. We can recieve reassurance, ask for help, and then trust Him to lead us. Unburdened and filled with peace, we can then get back to playing- using the fun gift of story-telling He gave us.

Lord, Thank You for being so available to us and so willing to help. We're sorry for lugging around burdens You want to take care of for us. Help us to trust You, to include You. We want all the joy and peace You offer. Thank you for creativity and all of the fun. Amen