"My burden is light" - Jesus

Turns out, I have a hard time letting things go. I like to hold onto things forever - it's a control thing. I worry about things, so I would rather have everything in my hands 100% of the time. It's also probably a little bit of a pride thing too. I guess it just depends on the situation. 

Unfortunately (and fortunately), that's not how the Atonement works.  

Matthew 11:28-30
28 ¶^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest.

29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light.

What I am learning is that God won't just swoop in and take away whatever burden I am carrying automatically. It takes action on my part, like the scripture says: "Come unto me", "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me." Those are the requirements, but what I have found out is that the first steps before all of that is humbling yourself and admitting you need help. It's like an Alcoholic's Anonymous meeting: "Hi, I'm Stacy, and I have a problem..." Admitting you have a problem is the first step, but then you have to actually do something about it. You have to honestly, through prayer, place your burdens at His feet and then (here's the hard part for me) leave them there. Walk away. Let them go! That means don't dwell on it, worry about it, doubt God wants to help you, or think that your plan is better than His. Don't send cards or go back for monthly visits! You are done! When you give Him your burdens, you are trading your yoke for the Lord's, so you don't get to mess with it anymore. Your job is to look to the future and focus on what the Lord's yoke requires of you.

What is the Lord's yoke? From what I can gather, it's living the gospel (keeping the commandments) and charity. That's it. Christ's yoke really is easier because it is straight forward and leads you to a life of peace and happiness. When you do all that, then you don't have to worry about anything else because you can trust that God is taking care of it. He's willing to do that for us, if we will do what little He asks of us. It really is the only way that you can feel "rest unto your soul" like it says in Matthew 11:29.

Yeah, that is what I am learning right now. It takes a conscious effort on my part, but I'm finding that it is worth it.