It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

I open the door to the laundry room with a sigh, knowing what I will find. The towering mound of clean laundry waiting to be put away is still there. It’s always there and seems to be continually growing, a Mt. Everest of socks and T-shirts and tiny toddler jeans reminding me of all that I didn’t accomplished today. A heaviness settles in my chest, a nagging feeling that somehow I have failed again.

For me, the “yoke of slavery” that Paul describes in Galatians 5:1 is almost always self-imposed. How often I find myself burdened by rules that God never intended for me to follow. I tell myself that my house isn’t clean enough and the meals I cook for my family aren’t healthy enough, my children watch too many videos and read too few books, I need to give more of my time to others, yet spend more time alone with God, I should eat less and exercise more and most of all, I’m too uptight! No wonder I struggle with finding joy in the Lord; like my pile of laundry, I’ve built a mountain of shoulds, ought-to’s and musts that keeps me from seeing and delighting in my loving Father. This isn’t the abundant life Jesus promised for those who would follow him, but a poor imitation bound up in false guilt and a false religion of to-do lists and spiritual chores that I’ve convinced myself will somehow make God happy.

How difficult it must be for the Lord to watch me, fumbling like a prisoner for the key to my cell when the building has already been torn down around me. For the truth, I go to God’s Word. The Bible tells me that God takes great delight in me (Zephaniah 3:17), has loved me with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), daily bears my burdens (Psalm 68:19) guards my heart with peace (Philippians 4:7), forgives and cleanses me (1 John 1:9), gives me power when I am weak (Isaiah 40:29), restores my soul (Psalm 23:3) and sets me free (Galatians 5:1.) Here there are no impossible rules, no disapproving God, but a tender, merciful Father.

I shut the door to the laundry room, feeling lighter somehow and content to leave the pile for another day.