Warrior of Light

Aren't I a scary warrior?  Ha ha ha ha!
I decided not to try to look fierce.  I'm bad at it.

Scary Sherie (not!)

I was trying to imagine myself as a warrior in the usual sense the other day.  I mean -- I own a sword!  But it is a very light wooden sword used to practice Tai Chi.  I don't really have enough muscles to do any fighting.  I'd probably lose an arm wrestle with almost anyone, and I hate conflict anyway so I might be inclined to duck my head, close my eyes tight, cover my ears and hope any conflict stops soon!

Why was I trying to imagine myself a warrior?  Because I have a book about being a Prayer Warrior.  Someone who takes the time to talk to God, to acknowledge his power, to be grateful for His gifts, to repent of sins, and to ask for help for others as well as self -- expecting that miracles will happen if the requests align with His will.  A prayer warrior takes time to study out what His will would be too, so that the prayers are more effective.
I can be a prayer warrior.  And so can you.  And if that's all we can do for good, we will have accomplished a great deal.  But is there something else we can do?

I believe that we can be Warriors of Light.  The Lord is my light, and as I do and say things that He would do and say, and stand up for Him and His teachings, then I am being a Warrior for Christ -- which is a Warrior of Light.  I like the idea of practicing being this kind of warrior.  The more I practice, the more His light can shine through me, and where light is, darkness cannot stay!

*The book on being a prayer warrior is called The Battle Plan for Prayer by Stephen and Alex Kendrick

The Weight of The World

Dan was explaining to me the other day how much more weight yoked animals can pull than a single animal.
He was very impressed.  This is why Jesus wants us to take His yoke upon us, because then we will have help with the weight of all of the things we worry about.  And if we feel stuck, He can help pull us out.

Carrying the weight of the world means that we are taking off the "yoke" that ties us to Christ, and trying to solve our problems, our loved ones problems, and really the world's problems all by ourselves.  It doesn't really work very well, and it is discouraging and exhausting.

It is frustrating to me how many times I fail to trust Christ to help and try to do things on my own, forgetting that I know Christ, and that I can trust Him to give that help.  I have taken to having messages pop up on my phone to remind me of Christ's love, and the grace He extends to me because I apparently have a challenge keeping this in mind during stressful moments.

I have heard that if you "live the gospel" you will be happier.  And it is possible that I immediately thought of a checklist.  Am I praying?  Reading the scriptures?  Being nice? Going to church?  Helping all I can? etc. etc.   But the essence of living the gospel isn't that list, it is trusting God, and turning to Him in my troubles, and trusting that He is aware of me and all of the people I want to help, and He knows what to do. 

I think it is hardest of all to remember to trust God when people I love are facing long, difficult challenges that go on and on.  Where is God then?  Is the Savior turning a blind eye?  Should I get angry, give up on God, and take off that yoke while frantically trying to solve the problem myself?  No.  He can carry much more weight than me, or those I worry over, but it does take experiences with Christ for me to trust Him.  The more I learn of Him, the better I know Him, the easier it is to trust Him, and then the weight of the world can be lifted off of my shoulders.