It had been a long day.  I had just finished dealing with one child over a very difficult issue and had to unexpectedly take Steve to a doctor’s appointment. It was a race of the clock to get dinner on the table in time, comfort my youngest, and head out the door for a homeschool meeting. The last thing I wanted to do was get into the car and drive to church.  I had already promised to be there early.  As it was, I was barely able to make it on time. I picked up a good friend on the way, and she asked how we were doing.

    I shared some of the many whirlwinds we had been dealing with the past week or two and how difficult things had been in our home. And then, an amazing thing happened.  She validated me. She told me how she could understand our situation and how certain changes were affecting us. She said she could understand why I felt frustrated and fearful and that it was a natural part of being human. She validated my heavy load, mostly because she had been in situations before that had made her feel the same way.

    As we continued our evening, God continued to work on my weary and heavy laden heart through a time of relationship building within our small group. We were given questions to answer, but as we opened up and shared within our group, our discussions turned in different angles.  We were sharing common ground in homeschool issues, but began understanding each other in deeper ways. Another homeschool mom and I shared a common problem, and it also validated me to know I was not alone in what I was facing. I had two compassionate ears listen to me that evening, and because of that I felt renewed and refreshed.  A feeling of heaviness had lifted.

    Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I believe that often times when we are in need of rest, God places people within our lives to listen, encourage, and build up. In essence, they represent Jesus to us.  They give us listening ears and show compassion in our needful moments. They remind us that God is still there, meeting our weary hearts even when we are trying our hardest to be strong. We often go through things ourselves just for the very purpose of being there for someone else down the road.

    Know in your deepest and darkest moments that God has people available to listen to you, understand you, and validate you. But, know also that soon, you yourself will be able to do the same for others in their time of need, because you’ve been there.