How to Have More Ease in Life

Life can be exhausting.  Just the daily tasks of going to work, taking care of the home, the car, the kids, trying to eat healthy and stay in shape, manage the finances. The list goes on and on. As a single mom, I was always busy: working, going to night school, taking care of the kids, the house, trying to keep in shape. I was disciplined, structured, and organized. I was also exhausted a lot of the time.  Raising two boys without a dad is no picnic.  Life doesn't have to be like this and today I'm going to share what I've learned about how to have more ease in life, despite our circumstances.

You see, when we learn to live a fast-paced, over-committed life, it is hard to slow down. We adapt certain behaviors and ways of living to cope with the challenges of life that becomes our norm. Today let's talk about 5 ways we can bring more ease into our lives.

Side story. Do you ever get a song or a verse that just sticks in your spirit over and over? I do. I keep getting this one passage year after year and I asked why God keeps giving it to me. Then I figured it out. It's because I hadn't learned all the lessons that were in it! You may be familiar with the passage Matthew 11: 28-30.  So here's what it taught me.

1. "Come to me"
Jesus knows when we are tired and worn out by all our responsibilities and to-dos. He invites us to draw closer to him. In other words, to spend time in prayer, time reading the Word, time just being still. This invitation is extended to each of us who feel overwhelmed.

2. "...all you who are weary and heavy burdened"
When we feel weary and heavy burdened, this is a sign we have taken on too much. It's time to let go of some of our commitments. It is time to rest. Our bodies and our minds need rest. Our minds cannot rest when we engage in too much activity and have too many concerns to deal with.

3. "and I will give you rest". 
This is a promise. When we let go of some of the extraneous activities and commitments we have taken on, when we turn our cares and concerns over to God, then we can enjoy mental and physical rest. We were not made to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. That is God's job.

4.  "Take my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart"
Jesus is God's example of how we are supposed to be: gentle and humble. I know I was not born gentle or humble. In fact, gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit. Like a seed, gentleness needs to be cultivated in order to grow. We need to learn to be humble. Most of us want to take all the credit and be the center of attention to feel good about ourselves. Jesus was not like that. Jesus was a servant and that is what we need to be: servants and examples of God's love, mercy, grace and compassion.

5. "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 
Yes, life has its challenges and its responsibilities, but we are not to let them weigh us down and steal our peace and our joy. A friend of mine once suggested I start declaring "Today is going to be an easy day". I tried it and it worked! Jesus does not want us to feel over-burdened. We are instructed to cast all our worries and concerns on him. (1 Peter 5:7).  He is our burden-bearer. When we let go of some activities, we have more time to have fun and to laugh and we all know the adage "Laughter is the best medicine!"

If we want to have more ease in our lives, we need to let go of some activities, some people, and spend more time with Jesus. It is important to rest, have fun, and laugh.

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Stay tuned for more on how to ignite the power within and discover YOUR destiny!

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz