Hold Loosely to the Things of this World

 Wanted to share something God has been sharing with me.  I feel like God has a message for all of us, so I am going to try to articulate what I feel He is laying on my heart.  

First I think we can just acknowledge and agree this past year and season of time has been difficult and hard! There has been So much loss and grief and HEAVY.  The heavy of it all.  That is what I seem to be having a hard time getting away from.  The burden bearer in me is going crazy trying to figure out how to bear all the burdens around me.  However, what I am finding is there are too many burdens and too much heavy for me to carry.  Christmas day I was crying out to the Lord asking Him what He wanted from me.  How did he want me to proceed?  Did He want me to keep trying to help carry the burdens around me?  If so, why did it feel so lonely and so hopeless?  Why was I struggling with helping someone pick up their heavy load only to find myself turning around to find another person needing help. . . . The hardest part was as I was leaning over to pick up and help carry other peoples heavy stuff I was spilling out my own burdens. How could I carry all of this?  

I was praying over this and crying out to the Lord.  The struggle was so real in my heart and the heavy was so heavy I felt trapped.  I saw so much pain, loss, grief, depression, injustice, fear, mean heartedness, selfishness, intolerance, pride, weariness, unfairness, isolation, disappointment, sadness. . . the list went on and on. In the midst of just laying it out before the Lord Himself, I felt Him gently remind me, "Michelle, I sent my SON to carry this.  He carried that burden of all of this on HIS shoulders.  He is who I sent for all of this you are crying to me about." Then our Faithfull Father God started to slowly walk me through laying each person on my heart down at HIS feet.  He started lessening the Load.  He reminded me that we are to carry others burdens along side and with them but not to the point that it destroys us and who He created us to be.  That is why He sent his ONE AND ONLY SON.   

Then yesterday, during church I had this message well up inside of me that I again felt God was imparting something in my inner soul. It was this:

"Hold Loosely to the things of this world.  Hold loosely my children.  There is loss around you and you have loss in your own life but I am here with you.  In this time of weary sadness and heaviness in our world, I am here.  Hold to ME, not the things of this world.  They will fade, they will ALL fade away, but I REMAIN, my child.  My children.  Love your family, friends, children . . . but HOLD LOOSELY to them. They were never YOURS, but they are MINE. So love them and enjoy each day with them but HOLD LOOSELY to them.  Love my people, MY CHILDREN lost in this world.  LOVE them and bring them to ME.  It is what I created you for.  I need them to come to me and I need you to help me with that.  Everyone loses in this LIFE but I your God have a place for you that has no LOSS.  No TEARS, No PAIN.  Hold Loosely to the things of THIS WORLD, and don't lose HOPE!"

Then immediately followed by this verse flashing in my head 

Job 1:21

And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there.  The LORD gave, and the LORD taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.