Those of you who have blogs know this, but for those who are readers, let me explain that there is an area for the writer called Stats. Stats is important to tell you how many people have visited your blog, what they have read, and where they are from. It will also tell you what Google searches have brought people to your blog. My most popular post, by far, is Lizards, Snakes, and Prayers about going to a Reptile Exhibit with Patty and Patrick. I took a picture of Patrick and a man who is a famous Youtube snake expert. Because I am clueless, I did not know this when I took the picture. The man is Chewy from Snakebytes. If you google Chewy Snakebytes under Images, that picture comes up first.
Typical Holimess google searches are things like “Jesus, I believe,” “Buying cookies at Grand Central,” “Breast cancer,” “Cake Boss,” and assorted scripture verses. But this week, I had a Google search that tugged at my heart. Someone had googled, “I am tired of this life Lord.”
When I noticed this search, I immediately offered the person to God in prayer. While I do not know the source of their pain, God does. I asked God to hold them gently in His hands. To give them support and encouragement. To let them know that whatever battle they are facing, they are not alone. To breathe upon their situation and to bring them grace, healing and peace. But over the week, I kept thinking and praying about the depth of pain that could lead a person to google “I am tired of this life lord.” I wondered if when they got to Holimess they landed on a post that God could use to provide support. (God has been known to use a talking donkey so I guess He can probably use me.) So I repeated the search “I am tired of this life Lord” to see if I could figure out what post Google would have led them to. I went through pages of the search on the web, but found nothing. It wasn’t until I switched over to images, that I found a familiar picture. About half way down the first page of images was a picture of Patty running in a bubble ball on the water at Otter Lake. I clicked through to my post.
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus went to pray in a grove of olive trees called the Garden of Gethsemane. A “gethsemane” was a huge stone basin where olives were crushed by another large round stone that was rolled around by yoked oxen until the oil flowed. When we feel tired of this life and pressed on every side, our Lord Jesus – who was crushed beneath the weight of undeserved condemnation and hung on a cross for my sins and yours, feels your weariness. He invites us to exchange our yoke for His. Jesus is more than able and willing to bear our burdens. The grace that He offers is weightless.
In Psalms it says ‘Be still and know that I am God’. Come before God, away from the noise, away from the commotion, away from the busyness. Not with a shopping list, not with a list of demands, but actually with no words at all – just with a heart that is open to listen. And in the quietness, in the stillness, in the tranquillity – the voice of God whispers and we become refreshed.
This post was mentioned by Karmen at Chairs From the Curb. Karen shares about life, family, and old chairs. I loved her post about riding horses on the beach.
