Understand the Difference

Personified wisdom. I wrote these words nearly 20 years ago alongside Matthew 11:28-30 in my Harper Collins Study Bible during one of my classes at Yale in the late 1990’s. These lines are today’s reading for Advent and the Christmas season. Because line 11:28 has always been a go to for me: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,” I’m sure that marginality was written to remind myself to believe, to have faith, to trust in the Lord. As I dig deeper into these old notes, I see lines and connections to Sirach 24:19 “Come to me, you who desire me, and eat your fill of my fruits,” and Sirach 51:23 “Draw near to me, you who are uneducated, and lodge in the house of instruction.” I bet if I still had the papers from that time, I would find an exegesis connecting these texts, further emphasizing that the call to draw near and trust was a pattern already established in the Torah and now reiterated by Matthew.

So what does this mean to me today? How does it relate to “understand the difference?” Rest and the fruits of faith are available 24/7. The burden, the weary will likely still exist, but I can choose to experience a moment of difficulty or a moment of suffering with grace or with pain. Having faith, believing, trusting, doesn’t mean that something challenging will disappear. As a young woman of faith I longed for difficult experiences to evaporate. As I age, I understand the difference between accepting a challenge with grace versus resistance or the desire for something to disappear. When I resist those difficult moments, they expand and engulf me, becoming mountainous. When I accept them, they still test me, but not on the same level.

Today’s prompt:

Play with complimentary colors and the concept of quilting with papers to create an asymmetrical design. Add a focal point that demonstrates movement.

Everyday through December 25th, I’ll be making a 5×5 inch collage, writing a short entry on this blog and sharing a prompt for those who might want to participate along with me. You can follow my progress by subscribing to this blog through the sidebar on the blog homepage, or by following me on Instagram.