Blog

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Difficult life circumstances can come upon us in any number of ways, occur at unexpected times, and impact us on multiple levels (e.g., emotionally, physically, financially, and spiritually).

Late last year my family began fostering a 2 month-old baby boy for what was intended to only last two to three months, the end of which was supposed to culminate with this little baby being adopted into his permanent family. We were meant to act as the “bridge” between this baby’s stay in institutional care and his adoption into a permanent family. However, at the end of three months the little baby was still not eligible for adoption and it was unclear as to when that would occur. Due to the indefinite time horizon for his adoption and a variety of circumstances in our own family, we found ourselves unable to continue to care for this baby. 

As a result, we made the gut-wrenching decision to have the baby placed into the care of another “bridge” family until his eventual adoption. Saying goodbye to those close to us is always difficult, but doing so with this little baby knowing that he was not yet being united with his permanent family was especially hard. The potential emotional and psychological impact it would have on the little boy weighed heavily on our hearts. Thoughts about letting this baby boy down were compounded with feelings of shame, guilt and sadness. 

While my family and I will need to process through those thoughts and feelings in due course, I have been reminded of Jesus’ open invitation in Matthew 11 to come to Him in order to find rest. Spending time with the Lord in prayer and meditating on those verses have been particularly comforting to me during this time. I have also been encouraged and blessed by the prayers and support received from friends and family.   

If you are experiencing a challenging or difficult season in your life, whether created by your own doing or otherwise, I hope you can find comfort in the midst of the storm by:

• Asking God to help you be honest about what is causing you to feel weary or burdened and embrace His unconditional love and rest
• Thanking God for always being the God of comfort