Today is Palm Sunday. Christians all over the world will be celebrating the anniversary of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. It was a joyous occasion back then with people lining the road, waving palm branches, and offering their hosannas to the Son of David. They celebrated and proclaimed how Jesus came in the name of the Lord.
How quickly they turned.
In less than a week, some of these same people would be shouting “Crucify him!” Those that hadn’t lost faith, hid in the shadows for fear of being associated with Jesus. They turned their backs on the very person they had once believed would save them.
A few years ago, I wrote a children’s book for my granddaughter about Palm Sunday. It’s called “The Little Donkey Colt”. It’s about that special Palm Sunday from the little donkey colt’s perspective and how proud he was to have carried Jesus on his back. The story serves to remind us how proud we should be to carry Jesus in our hearts.
That book helps remind me that burdens don’t seem so heavy when we remain strong in our faith in God.
Having Myasthenia Gravis isn’t easy. In fact, it’s quite the burden. What lightens the burden for me is my faith and knowing I can handle anything with God’s help. I can do so little on my own. Knowing he is always with me, always has my hand, gets me through the tough times. It makes me realize how much I am blessed.
Recognizing your blessings when you’re hurting, when you’re tired, when you’re ready to give up, isn’t easy. Here’s the irony. Failing to recognize how blessed you truly are and turning away from your faith instead of towards it, makes your suffering all that much worse. When we get caught up in ourselves, when we think we can handle it alone, when we can only think about our suffering, our minds begin a downward spiral. If we go down that spiral too deeply, we may never recover.
When we realize there is someone who has already suffered for us, who can take away our suffering, who can promise us eternal life, then we have hope, we find strength, we fight.
That’s how I choose to live this Palm Sunday and every day of my life. I’m surrounded by God’s blessings and how He sent His Son to take away our suffering. I’m still going to have burdens, but those burdens seem so much lighter when Jesus is in my heart.
Won’t you join me? When your burden becomes too heavy, give it to God. He will give you strength.
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