Let Him Unload Your Cart

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, NIV).

I don’t have a family of my own, yet, but I have a couple of friends who are raising four boys. Growing up with three brothers and having always been a bit of a tomboy, I can certainly envision myself as a boy Mom, but that doesn’t mean I really have a full appreciation for what it takes to raise four boys in the same household! Can you imagine what a trip to Walmart looks like when you’re feeding four growing boys?

One of my brothers and his wife are parents of three boys and one girl. I remember accompanying him on a trip to the store one afternoon with all four kiddos in tow. We’d been in the store a matter of minutes when each of the kids began tossing items into the cart that they “had to have.” Of course, nearly none of these items were healthy, needed, or on the grocery list. Chips, cookies, juice boxes, and all the sugar!

Half the battle as we walked through the store was constantly checking the cart for items that were added while neither of us was looking. Though I feel like we put up a good fight, by the time we reached the checkout, the cart was filled with so many additional items that we never intended to pick up.

As the primary cart pusher that day, I remember how difficult it became to steer the cart as we neared the end of the trip up and down the aisles. In addition to the necessary, on-the-list items, the cart was filled with things we didn’t need, almost all of which weren’t good for us.

Have you ever gotten home from a trip to the grocery only to realize over half of what you added to your cart weren’t even things you intended to buy? I am certainly not anti-sweets, but what I do know is, the more “bad for me” stuff I allow to get put into the cart, the easier it is to continue adding those items. And if I’m not careful, the “bad for me” food will eventually outweigh the things that actually provide nourishment for my body. This is true for my physical body but also for my spiritual soul.

Too much time on social media. Watching too much TV. Comparing myself to others. Setting unrealistic expectations. Looking to others for validation instead of leaning on Jesus. These are just a few examples of how quickly my spiritual cart can get loaded down with things that I never intended to be consumed by, all of which aren’t healthy for my soul, and none of which Jesus wants me to carry around.

Just as I struggled to keep the cart on track at the grocery store that day, when I allow my spirit to get weighed down by the things of this world, I so quickly lose sight of Jesus. Have you been there, too?

One of the most important parts of my relationship with Jesus is being intentional to attune my ears to His voice. John 10, verse 27 says: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I love this verse. As a follower of Jesus, I am like a sheep who is learning to listen for the voice of their shepherd. When I hear His voice, I know Him, and I can follow Him.

Over the last several years, I have begun to recognize how much my ability to hear the voice of Jesus is impacted by the things I place, or allow to be placed, in my cart. When my life is focused on and filled with things of this world rather than the truth of God’s word, the cart becomes increasingly heavy and difficult to steer. I know we are all guilty of this at times. But, when we allow ourselves to walk around with items in our cart that we don’t need and know aren’t good for us, we can so quickly become weighed down. And so often, instead of looking to Jesus and allowing Him to help us discover what things we can remove to lighten our load, we keep our heads down, keep on moving, and before long, we’re exhausted and have unknowingly veered off course.

I am learning to remind myself that Jesus is asking us to remember His words from Matthew 11:28-30, “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.”

The next time you find yourself at Walmart with a hard-to-push grocery cart full of extra items you didn’t intend to buy, I’m praying you’ll remember this story I’ve shared with you today. Though I’m not saying you need to return to the shelves any of the items you’re prepared to purchase, I am praying that you’ll see it as an opportunity to take an inventory of your life.

Ask Jesus to show you what He wants you to unload, listen for His voice, and always remember that when you allow Him to be the one placing items in your cart, you will find yourself filled with a joy and peace you’ve never known.