We talked about this scripture from Matthew 11:29: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Because in the beginning of the verse it says “take my yoke upon you.”
You can’t share a yoke walking in front, or lagging behind. You have to pull your weight. You have to act. And if needed, you must be willing to slow down and be “meek and lowly in heart.” (We have an antique yoke hanging in our living room to remind us of just that and I’m posting it here as a visual.)
This is why it reminded me of walking with Lucy…as a symbol of mothering and life in general.
We walk to school most mornings, Lucy and I together with Bo. And I’m generally in a hurry. Oh don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty awesome mother/daughter date and I love the talking time. But often I’m pulling her along, her hand clinging to the crook of my elbow, reminding her occasionally to pick up the pace in the midst of our talking.
Talking in class on Sunday for some reason made me compare our walking “yoked” together, me and her, hand in hand, to me walking with Christ. Would He be hustling me along, pulling me at some points? Perhaps, if I’m not doing my part. But for the most part, I think He would be slow down to really be at my side, attentively listening.
Meek and Lowly in heart.
Not in such a hurry to get on to the next thing, the laundry, the meal planning, the blog post, the workout. He would knit His heart with mine and truly “be there.”
He would have to be meek and lowly in heart if He is willing to share a yoke with me, a sinner, one who makes mistakes every day. Yet he is willing to walk slowly with me, carry me through the tough times, forgive me for the things I do wrong, and create a gateway for me to return to God some day, if I am willing to accept it.
If Christ is willing, in all his glory and perfection, to walk with us…and share our yoke, how much more willing should we be to truly walk with others around us? Not pulling from the front, or lagging behind, our yokes all askew…not so busy to get on to the next thing.
But to slow down and listen to the nudges and promptings that come our way so that we can know whether we need to get our act together to pull our weight or slow down a little to share some burdens we may not recognize otherwise. To really walk with one another, equally yoked.
Makes me so grateful for the people that slow down and help me carry burdens every day, and for the opportunities I have to do the same. Grateful in particular for the realization that as I slow down to share that yoke with my darling Lucy, that I realize sometimes that grand spirit of hers is really the one slowing down to let mine catch up.
This is profound. Thank you so much.
Wow, I needed that. Thank you!
Perfect for me today. Thanks so much.
What a great reminder of what it means to be yoked and how we should be walking beside our children. I am guilty of the sighs and eye rolls at times. Thanks for the reminder.
Me too. I feel I'm not as patient as I could be when it comes to homework, etc., with my daughters. I do the sighs and eye rolls. I needed this post at this time. Thanks, Shawni.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really needed this reminder. So profound and true.
Loved this. We had a great talk in church a few weeks ago about meekness and the speaker shared this story that really showed what meekness is. I just love it–especially the things at the end to think about. I shared it again in FHE a couple weeks ago and my kids still mention the things at the end when there is a chore they are asked to do that no one wants to do, etc. https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2008/september/4092908.html
This is a beautiful post. Thanks for sharing it!
I needed this thank you!!
It gets even better!
A couple of years ago, I was visiting a different church. During his homily the priest said, that in his native Italian language, the translation is My yoke is sweet.
Personally, I love the thought that the Good Lord's yoke is sweet 🙂