"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  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.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, NRSV)

When I was young heard this scripture I thought of a yoke as a decoration.  We would wear a necklace for Jesus and wouldn't have any work to do.  What fun!  I finally got it when I saw a picture of a woman using a yoke to carry buckets of water.  A yoke makes it easier to carry a load by spreading out and balancing the weight or by allowing more than one to share a load or task.  Now I know that Jesus is not offering a life of ease free of all problems.  Better than that, he's offering to teach us how to more easily carry the burdens we have in life and he's willing to share the load.  And I've found that when we're yoked with Jesus, helping someone else carry their load sometimes makes our load seem lighter.

Blessings!
Marilyn