Light Hearted

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We spent hours upon hours preparing for this day. There were the lists of things we needed to buy, shirt designs, themes, and every ounce of our creative minds were on overdrive. Somehow my cousin and I had put our minds to entering into the flotilla contest for the fourth of July celebration at our grandparents lake. Our parents (and even our grandparents) believed it was going to be an expensive waste of time, but we were determined to succeed and not only enter but win for best boat.

The pontoon was old with a beautiful silver/blue and red/orange decal. We only ever used it to go out fishing and swimming. As my cousin and I threw out ideas, it was a holiday themed design we eventually both agreed was going to be our best bet at winning. After all of the planning, the day finally arrived and we listened to our burned CD full of all the USA proud songs we could find while we proudly decorated our boat in red, white, and blue. Streamers, banners, flags, and balloons adorned our watercraft and we wore shirts we decorated along with hats and glasses. There were pom-poms and signs we waved with pride. Even our grandpa wore Americanized apparel and shouted "USA, USA, USA!" as the flotilla parade commenced.

The parade journey was the entire lake's perimeter. At the end held the truth of wether or not we had the best design. All of the crew on our craft were told [forced] to yell, shout and sing with the music and encourage the surveyors to cheer and vote for us. As we neared the end of our journey, my cousin and I looked at each other with a look we knew we'd remember the rest of our lives. We had hit a point where we knew nothing else mattered. There were smiles, laughs, and pure light hearted moments we were able to share and enjoy through that experience. The faces and voices of our family still shine bright in my memory from that day.

There are so many of those moments available to us, but as we get older we tend to let go of them and allow the weight of the world to rest on our hearts instead. We wake up with thoughts of what needs done throughout the day ahead staring at us in the face. Sometimes circumstances alone from the day to day come in and overwhelm us with heavy hearts. When all of those times come about and we hit the lows, we need to find a way to become light hearted.

Have you ever seen an elder person who seemed to live without a care in the world? Have you ever heard someone with years lived ahead of you say "You learn you just have to let it all go." or my personal favorite "It doesn't do any good to worry."? Those people who can claim those truths and live those carefree lives are living in an alternate reality. No, instead they are choosing to be light hearted.

Light hearted lives are not lives that are unjustified. They aren't people who fake smile because they want to hide the crazy hidden hurts and pains. Having a light heart is actually quite simple, and my cousin and I caught a glimpse of it when we were in that parade. It didn't matter if we were the "best boat" because in our minds we knew no one else was having the experience our family was having. We were living in that moment and enjoying right where we are without allowing the crazy hurt and pains of the world intrude. We just were us.

Jesus promises to give us light hearts if we just trust in him and lay our burdens at his feet. He promises that in the morning when we feel the pains and hurts of the world knocking at our door, he has strength already provided to make it through the day. He promises that when we worry about the weight of the transgressions in our past starts to pull, He'll pick it up for you. His grace is sufficient and His mercy is none ending.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
-Matthew 30:28-30

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