Sunday, March 22, 2015

"Come unto me all that are heavy laden"


Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you , and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

Last week (3/15/15) in Sunday school I had an epiphany. The Savior is there to help us with our trials we only need to seek him.  He says come unto me and I will give you rest, put my yoke upon you and I will help you to bear your burdens for me, it is easier.  And it is because he has seen it and has been through it because of the atonement.  The Lord is willing to share the burden that you carry, therefore he asks that you put on his yoke. 

 An analogy/parable if you will, a therapist in a Skilled Nursing Facility setting is similar to the Savior.

As a therapist, you have to be strong enough to help someone to stand. I use a Gait belt around someone’s waist.  Then if the person is taller or heavier and requires 50% of assistance or more I tend to stand in front of the person with a walker in front and block the walker so that it doesn’t move, but I can also use it as leverage. The patient is then asked to scoot to the edge of the chair and push from the armrest and bend forward to stand. As they are pushing, I am pulling, using proper body mechanics, doing most of the work and lessening their burden as the patient is able to stand.

Over time as the patient become stronger, the load that the therapist has to bear is lightened and the patient is able to stand on his own and continue working towards the end goal of being able to return to their home in order to continue with their life.  They then will have the knowledge to endure. Therefore when the next trial or illness comes along or if it does, they remember how to do something and it won’t take as long to recover as the first time.

With that thought, throughout our life, the Lord has taught us the way or body mechanics if you will by reading our scriptures, going to church and praying.  When we require additional help, the Lord is there to “lighten our load” or to do 50% of the work. As we gain more knowledge and become stronger in our testimony, the Lord is able to loosen the reins and we can continue to strive to return home.  When our next trial comes, and it will because the Lord knows that we can handle it, we will have the knowledge that we were taught in the previous one and be able to work towards returning home to live with him in the eternal perspective.