All I can think about right now is the old song……..
“Alice the camel has three humps…..
Alice the camel has two humps…..
Alice the camel has one hump……
Alice the camel has no humps…..
Alice was a horse!
The Camel Story
A few months ago just after my relapse, I was feeling very broken. I made a phone call to a fellow believer in recovery and shared all that was on my heart. She asked me if I had ever heard “The Camel Story”. I never had. She went on to tell me the story and how she practices this in her own life.
“Every morning a camel bends down before its master and receives its load for the day. Every evening the camel bends down again to have the load removed for the night. Day after day the camel repeats this. I try to implement this same practice in my life. Every morning I get down on my knees and ask God to give me the day’s burdens. Every evening I unload, giving everything back to the Lord. This keeps me focused as I go through my day and provides peace and release at the end of the day.”
I have thought about “The Camel Story” everyday since then.
What if I only carried the things God wanted me to each day and then gave them back to Him each night?
My life would be so much different for sure. I am convinced that I would be much more peaceful, focused and free. I would be living in God’s flow far away from fruitless struggles.
A Heavy Load
I carry much more than I am meant to. I always have. My mom says I was born an “old soul”. I have always been sensitive, aware, intuitive and a deep feeler. I have always been impacted very much by the things going on within and around me. These qualities are often very positive attributes. However, sometimes they can cross the line and become detrimental.
Because of how I have been created, I have a tendency to carry heavy weights. Most times these burdens don’t belong to me. Instead they belong to others and the One who has the ultimate plan, sovereignty and power over this world. My humanness leads me to try to take on God’s job.
I believe this grieves God as he wants me to be light and free, allowing Him to do the heavy lifting. This requires me to let go and release the heavy chains to God. I have to do the footwork to open the door for God to work. When I keep my fists clutched around things, refusing to surrender them, I create my own prison holding myself hostage.
That doesn’t mean that my life is easy, but I also believe that it doesn’t have to be so hard. I believe the struggle often comes in when I am carrying more than I’m meant to.
Wisdom from the Word
A passage of scripture I have been studying for months comes from Matthew 11.
“At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: ‘O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'”
Matthew 11:25-30 NLT
The camel trusts its master and only takes what its master gives him. I am laughing to myself thinking about a camel turning to its trainer and asking for a heavier load for the day or trying to negotiate its assignment 🙂 Instead, the camel carries what its given and goes where its led for the day. When evening comes, off comes the weight and the camel settles in to rest. What a simple way to live!
I am working on implementing “The Camel Story” in my daily life by taking the camel’s posture. Life is so much different when I’m in God’s flow and allowing Him to determine my load.
What about you, is there anything God is calling you to carry or release to Him?
I love to hear from you! Comment or drop me an email!
Much Love,
