The Freedom of Laying Down Burdens and Saying Yes to Jesus
WELCOME, DEAR ONE! SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE.
Before we dive in, a quick note for anyone new here:
ROOTED in Jesus is a branch of Seeds of Exchange that grew out of a simple longing: to create space for people to encounter Jesus more deeply in everyday life. Each week, on Thursday mornings, we gather from living rooms, coffee shops, offices, cars, and kitchen tables around the world to pray, open Scripture, share stories, encourage one another, and make room for the One who loves us most.
No perfect faith required.
No insider knowledge necessary.
Just come as you are.
We’re so glad you’re here.
Pull up a chair… and join us from wherever you are.
You belong.
You are so very, very loved.
Join us anytime—all are welcome!
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This Week, Jesus…
…gently reminded us that not every weight belongs on our shoulders.
For the first time since our Thursday morning prayer and devotions gatherings began more than a year and a half ago, our weekly prayer gathering almost didn’t happen. A technology glitch (user error on my end! :) meant no one could hear a word I was saying. We could see one another. We could wave. We could smile. But for several minutes, there was only the muffled sound of my voice.
When we finally reconnected, no one seemed frustrated or hurried. Instead, together we found ourselves asking a different question:
“Jesus… what might You be saying through this?”
Earlier that morning, I’d been training for the Camino de Santiago, walking with heavy weights strapped to my body. When I unclipped them, they landed on the floor with a loud thud. Immediately, I sensed Him whisper,
“This is the word for today.”
Some weights strengthen us. Training has purpose. Resistance prepares us for the journey ahead.
But not every weight belongs on our shoulders.
Hebrews 12 invites us to throw off everything that hinders us as we run with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus. Then, in Matthew 11, Jesus extends one of the most beautiful invitations in all of Scripture:
“Come to Me… Learn the unforced rhythms of grace… I will not lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.”
What a beautiful promise.
Some burdens are easy to recognize—sin, shame, fear, and anxiety. Others are much harder to see: the pressure to fix someone we love, feeling responsible for outcomes that belong to God alone, or quietly carrying expectations Jesus never placed on us. Even beautiful callings can become exhausting when we shoulder them apart from Him.
Together, we entered into a simple embodied prayer, imagining ourselves taking every burden that had become heavy or ill-fitting and placing it into Jesus’ capable hands. Not because our circumstances suddenly changed, but because the One carrying them did.
As our dear friend Hilary softly sang,
“Lay down your burdens…
Lay down your shame…
Come as you are…”
it felt less like the close of our gathering and more like Jesus extending His invitation once again.
That invitation carried with us into Contend + Connect, where our beloved friend Marqui Severson shared one of those stories that reminds us how God often writes across generations.
As a teenager, Marqui sat beside her grandfather during the final days of his life. He made one simple request:
“Promise me you’ll go to Malibu.”
She had no idea what he meant.
But she promised.
Looking back now, she can see how that one quiet yes became the thread God gently pulled throughout the rest of her life. It led her to a Young Life camp (called Malibu, in Canada), where she encountered Jesus in a deeper way than ever before. It grew into years of faithfully serving students. It brought her to Denver, where our paths first crossed at the Downing House—a place of Christian hospitality where God was already weaving our stories together. Today, it has led her to San Jose, where she joyfully serves teenagers, leaders, and families through Young Life.
Most recently, that same journey carried her into Baja, Mexico, where students built a home for a family, served at an orphanage, helped create a retreat center, and discovered something beautiful: following Jesus is about so much more than believing. It is about becoming.
Near the end of our conversation, Marqui reflected on the people who had quietly shaped her life—her grandfather, faithful Young Life leaders, dear friends, and spiritual mothers and fathers who first made room to hear God’s voice before courageously acting on what they heard.
Looking back, she realized that nearly every turning point in her story began the same way. Someone slowed down enough to listen. Then they simply said yes.
Marqui left us with words that have lingered in my heart ever since:
“The most important thing is to be still and quiet and listen to God… then be obedient to the nudges.”
The more we reflected on both gatherings, the more they felt like one conversation with some powerful threads:
When we lay down what Jesus never asked us to carry, our hands are finally free to receive what He longs to entrust to us.
Releasing unnecessary weight creates space to hear His gentle voice more clearly.
Freedom isn’t simply about what we let go of. It’s about what we receive in its place: His peace, His presence, His invitations, and the joy of joining Him in the beautiful work He’s already doing.
God’s Kingdom so often grows this way. Not through dramatic moments, but through one conversation, one invitation, one faithful yes, and one surrendered life becoming part of a story only He could write.
Watch This Week’s Gatherings
If you’d like to experience this week’s conversations, prayers, and stories, we’d love to have you join us.
🎥 ROOTED Devotions + Community Prayer
Lay Down the Weight | Living in the Unforced Rhythms of Grace
🎥 Contend + Connect
Be Still. Listen. Say Yes.
Featuring Marqui Severson and stories from Young Life Adventure Baja
Whether you watch one gathering or both, our prayer is the same: that you would encounter the love of Jesus, hear His gentle voice, and leave a little more rooted in His hope, peace, and presence than when you arrived.
Sit With Jesus This Week…
As you spend time with Jesus this week, consider sitting with these questions:
- What burden have you been carrying that Jesus never asked you to hold?
- Is there a responsibility, relationship, expectation, or fear that has become “heavy or ill-fitting” in this season?
- What might Jesus be inviting you to lay down today?
- Is there a quiet nudge you’ve been sensing but hesitating to follow?
- What might become possible if you traveled a little lighter… and simply said yes?
Scriptures
- Hebrews 12:1–3
- Matthew 11:28–30
- Proverbs 3:5–8
- Psalm 46:10
- Matthew 28:19–20
Until Next Time…
May we travel a little lighter because we’ve entrusted our burdens to Jesus.
May we become people who make room to hear His voice above the noise.
May we discover that freedom is found not only in what we lay down, but also in what we’re finally able to receive—His peace, His presence, His invitations, and the joy of joining Him in the beautiful work He’s already doing.
We’re cheering you on.
xo,
Sarah DT + the ROOTED in Jesus Seeds Fam
