“Mary, did you know you’ve started slouching?” asked my husband.

He noticed my deteriorating posture during an early morning walk one day. He first observed it in pictures from a family vacation. While everyone around me was standing up straight, my head hung low and my shoulders drooped. The unfortunate truth is that he wasn’t wrong.

There was a time when I held my head high and carried myself with confidence. But my body began showing signs of exhaustion after years of caring for my mom and then grieving her loss, worrying about our teenagers, health concerns, and other life hurts. My shoulders could no longer carry the weight of the struggles I attempted to carry on my own.

Friend, I wonder if you, too, are feeling the effects of carrying life’s burdens? Maybe you’ve been stressed for years, living paycheck to paycheck and wondering if it will ever get better. Or maybe the chronic illness you’ve battled for years has taken its toll on you emotionally. Perhaps you are dealing with a strained relationship that once was your go-to source for support.

I want you to know that when you feel like you are about to collapse under the heavy weight of life, you aren’t alone. In Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV), Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.”

Jesus wants us to turn to Him and release all that weighs us down, allowing Him to carry our burdens. But how do we do that when society tells us to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and keep going despite our exhaustion?

We begin by sitting quietly in prayer with the Lord. We lay one concern at the foot of the cross and allow Him to meet us in that need. As we trust Him with one issue, we’ll gain the strength to trust Him with the harder issues. And with each weight that is lifted, we’ll find healing and rest for our souls.

So, the financial concern that has you pinching pennies until payday. Talk to Him about it and trust Him to provide just what you need. The health concern that has you worried about the future. Trust Him to be the Great Physician. The relationship that’s become more complicated than it should be. Trust Him to work everything out for His glory.

Since that morning walk with my husband, I have paid more attention to my body. I do my best to regularly check in with the Lord and release the concerns I tend to hold too tightly. I’ve even consciously started holding my head high and my shoulders back as I focus on building core muscle strength.

Now that I’m actively standing up straighter and doing strengthening work, my shoulders and neck hurt. My muscles aren’t used to this posture and position. However, I know that over time, as I focus and put in the work to build both my core muscle strength and trust in the Lord, the pain will subside and my posture will improve.

Friend, the healing process may be uncomfortable and sometimes painful. But, as we sit with the Lord and trust Him to carry our burdens, we will once again be able to walk confidently in the joy that comes from finding rest for our souls.