Come With Me

Originally written 2/14/2023

“Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). I’m not sure if you’ve ever gone through a season that’s simply been heavy and exhausting, but hearing these words when you’re in the middle of one gives off the sound of fresh running, water.

I’m currently in a time that’s felt quite prolonged and overdue, but it’s a season of transition. I knew this time would come and now it’s decisions time. Where to go to next? What to do? How do I get there? These thoughts have been swirling at a nauseating pace. I’m sure there are pieces of this that sound quite familiar to you, do you remember how tired your mind felt? There’s a slippery slope here labeled in all caps called WORRY.

Worry is something that’s been a near constant struggle for me. My mind naturally tries to play out conclusions. There are times when this is helpful, but when it’s constantly working to try and make heads or tails of uncertain situations it can become flat out tiring.

I’ve been working to implement a new prayer practice where I try to find Jesus in my heart. Go there with Him and see where He takes me. I promise this isn’t magic or weird, you just close your eyes and follow in your mind – kind of like a day dream.

This morning I ended up in the batting cage down the right field line at Westmont College just as dusk was approaching. Jesus was sitting in a red, plastic, folding chair nearest the entrance to the cage. I was sitting across from Him sweating, tired, exhausted. He asked me to come with Him and He would give me rest.

There was something in the way that He was looking at me that made me believe He was telling the truth. He told me He knew I was scared of being left alone and abandoned, He said He knew exactly what that felt like, and then He promised that I could leave that fear at the door and that I should come with Him. He was never going to leave me alone. He would always be with me. It was more His face that led me to believe His words.

I then began to confess the deeper, darker areas of my heart to Him. And with a loving, soft smile He gently nodded, briefly closing His eyes. I noticed something in my heart – I wasn’t ashamed. I felt safe sharing with Him. He listened intently but it was almost like He had known these truths all along. Turns out He had, and yet He asked me to come with Him anyways.

He then tossed me a white rock with my name written on it in black sharpie-like writing. I asked Him what this was and, smiling again, said it was my unique calling. Nobody else in the world has what I was holding in my hand. There was this sense of purpose and meaning that was bubbling inside me in a way I’d never felt before. I felt like I was going to explode with passion. My past hurts and questions, though still there, paled in comparison to the charge I was feeling in my being.

He then, with all sincerity and intent, looked into my eyes and said, come with me. I could have said no, He allowed me that. But I don’t know why I ever would. In a moment, it felt as though I was confronted with the exact reason I was placed on this earth. I saw that I was here to follow Him.

This call is for you too, friend. The only part about this I wish I could change, is that I’d have better words to describe the experience. His face, His smile, His tone, was so gentle, yet His authority was unmatched. The love and acceptance in His eyes made me never want to leave, but there was also a clear sense that He was calling me out of something and there was real work to do. I want to say it again, this call is for you too. Will you come with Him with me?