GRIEF COACHING

"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."

Matthew 11: 28-30

A yoke of oxen was used in the past to pull a large plow or a heavy load. Two oxen can pull more than one, thereby making the plow or the load easier to move. But also, when they are yoked together, they will pull together. The yoke keeps them in sync with each other.

This passage, upon first reading, can seem anything but helping to ease a burden.  We picture a yoke as onerous and vexing.  Why would anyone want to wear one?

If we concentrate merely upon the yoke, then yes, we get a picture that is oppressive and enslaved.  The yoke definitely does not paint a pretty picture in our minds.  Good news! 

It’s not about the yoke; it’s all about the ox, more specifically the mature ox. When a young ox is learning to plow, he is not left to do so on his own. He needs a mature ox to teach him how. That is Jesus.

When Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, it is because we join him when we are yoked with him. He teaches us how to walk because we walk with him. He teaches us how to carry the burden of the plow because he is carrying it with us. 

As the verse reminds us, Jesus teaches us the right way to go.  He is gentle in His guiding and He uses everything in the fields of life to instruct us in His ways, and His ways are full of beauty.

If all we do is focus on the yoke, the difficulties of life that we face, then we will fail to pay attention to the One who instructs us into all truth, guiding us along the furrows of untamed soil, that we may reap crops of joy and peace and courage.  The yoke is merely an instrument that our perfect Teacher uses to keep us close to Him so that we may feel His tugging here and His guiding to the right or the left there.

Without Him, we will be all over the fields of life, making senseless tracks that lead to destruction. However, with Him, we are always pointed in the right direction that promises fruits of goodness for all our days.

In our passage, the phrase “let me teach you,” is also translated “learn of me.”  You see, as we become familiar to the guiding of the One who holds the reins, then we sense His gentle touch, we recognize His words of encouragement.  

As we learn His ways, what happens then?  Trust grows.  Faith grows.  Therefore, joy in the midst of any unfurrowed field, grows, too.  Why?  Because our faith is in the One who holds the reins. We trust that He indeed knows the way we should go.  Therefore, in gladness, we bear the yoke, and take off with His leading into the fields of uncertainty, at last realizing that He always knows the most wonderful way in which we should go.

Often times in grief we need someone that we can yoke up with. Someone who has traveled this path before us. They can guide us, helping us to follow the path that leads toward true Hope. Do you need someone to walk with you? We have grief coaches who are ready to journey with you! 

Contact us today to find out more! You do not need to journey alone!

*We have Certified Grief Coaches available in both English and Spanish!*

How Grief Coaching Works:

1. Complete the Grief Coaching Intake Form and then follow the link to purchase Grief Coaching Sessions Package.

2. You will then be contacted via email to setup your coaching sessions.

3. All sessions will be conducted via our online platform.

4. The heart of coaching is the application of your 'Moving Forward Steps,' therefore, we ask that you commit to a minimum of two sessions. This allows your grief coach to follow-up with accountability exercises. 

5. The coaching sessions have an expiration date of one year from the date of purchase. However, you can schedule the coaching sessions out at whatever intervals you and your Grief Coach determine would be best for you.