Lay Down Your Burden

Hello from my heart to yours...

"Lay down your burden... I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child..."
                                                                                                                     Amy Grant, "Carry You"

We all know the feeling of walking through life as if we are carrying the huge burden of our worries and stresses on our backs and shoulders, struggling to keep moving forward. There is no real way to move freely and fluidly in such a situation, and we are all longing to lay our burdens down... by imagining that it would be possible to do such a thing can be enough to elicit a sigh of relief and a feeling of lightness. 

Tonight the Catholics begin the Easter Triduum... it begins with the Chrism Mass, whereby the bishop blesses the Holy Oils.. the chrism, oil of the sick and oil of catechumens.. and we celebrate the Last Supper of Jesus... where he gave us the "reason" why we attend mass on Sundays when He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me"... the Triduum continues through to Resurrection Sunday.. we recall the passion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus... 

Tomorrow night, my Jewish friends celebrate Passover, whereby they recall the story of the Exodus... when God helped the children of Israel escape slavery in Egypt by inflicting 10 plagues.. the 10th and worst plague was the slaughter of the first-born.. the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes... 

I thought that these Holy days would be a perfect time to lay our burdens down at the feet of God.. releasing ourselves from that which we cannot handle on our own... after all, that is what Jesus did when He accepted his role as the Son of God... knowing that He would be betrayed and die on a cross... and after all, that is what the Israelites did when they did as instructed by God so that they could be free... and had they not laid their burdens down, then the story would have been written differently and the Church may not have been born...  

I did not study theology or religions... I only know what I have acquired by growing up with both, Catholic and Jewish friends.. by celebrating both OUR holidays and feasts.. and I am fascinated by the connection we have as children of one God... I am not the smartest girl or the most capable or the hardest working, but I believe that I cannot single-handedly cope with all the worries that I take on in my life... and thankfully, I do know that humans are not designed to do so... our well-being depends upon our ability to hand over that which we can no longer carry by ourselves... letting it go and letting God....

Let us begin this weekend right now... visualize yourself carrying your burdens to the feet of God.... sit with your eyes closed and envision an all powerful, supremely comforting being in what ever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road.... see yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container and imagine that all your worries are inside it.... watch as you make your way to the God of your imagination, and lay your baggage down at His feet.... allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry... 

We are here... all God's children .... all loved beyond measure and cherished blessings to the world... love one another and hold each other's hands through life... have faith and hope in God, yourselves and one another... lay down your burdens and move forward... spring is the time of renewal.. renew yourselves ... pray and meditate and be in God's grace always... 

May your Passover and Easter weekend be blessed with all things light,

I love you and love being your sister in God's eyes...

Elena

New Worlds & Easter/Passover Connection

Hello from my heart to yours....

 

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world not possibly born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."   Anais Nin

I know I keep writing about all the new friends I continue to make... and maybe, in actuality they fall under the "acquaintances I have affection for" list because we may not actually be "friends" .. you know, the kind where we spend time together on a weekly basis or even monthly for that matter... but then again, the definition of "friends" is.. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard... and so, I suppose then, that I actually do have many "friends".. for I do feel attached to so many people.. even if I never see them or share a meal with them.. even if our friendship is only through facebook or email... I have great affection for so many people.... 

Anyway, I know we can all agree that it is difficult to do this... to "play" with our friends all the time.. we all work and may be busy with our children and families... maybe we are just comfortable with the people we already share our lives with and really don't care to have more people in our lives... however, if we stop and greet each new person we meet as a potential "new friend", we may find that they bring to us a whole new world full of new adventures, new dreams, new hopes and new love.... and in turn, we would be blessing them with a whole new world as well.

Spring lends itself to making new friends... maybe because it is the season in which flowers bloom.. baby birds crack out of their shells... caterpillars become butterflies... or maybe it's because it is the season in which the new worlds in religion arose... all with God in common.... Every year I like to write about the connection we have with all the people of the world... and during Holy Week, I would like to give you a quick summary of our connection....

In Judaism, the people celebrate the beginning of the biblical year with two of the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover and Pentecost (Shavuot)... In Christianity, the believers celebrate Easter and Pentecost.  Our religious worlds are connected through Pentecost (Fiftieth Day)... 

On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharoah; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.

On Easter, the Christian people were given the gift of eternal life in Heaven; on Pentecost they were given the Holy Spirit, thus creating the Holy Trinity and the Birthday of the Church.

... these holidays are always celebrated in the Spring.... making Spring the season of new hope and renewal for all who have faith in our one God...

So.... this Spring, let us reflect on that... let us attempt to make maybe one "new" friend... let us re-connect with an "old" friend and make them "new" again... I guarantee that your heart will rejoice...  it's a lovely life and as my friend Rod said, "We should be nicer to each other... we're all we've got.." Share your world with others and be willing to go into someone else's world... You'll love the new and wonderful worlds that you create for one another... I know I do.....

Remember to be as good as Spring itself for you are loved beyond measure and a cherished blessing to the world and to me... 

May your day be blessed with all things good,

Elena