“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” Mark Twain

So, today is National Frog Jumping Day. The first thing to jump into my mind was Mark Twain’s funny story about the Jumping Frog Contest at Calaveras County. As with most of Twain’s stories, we are given a taste of life on the Mississippi River and frogs definitely are in abundance there. The story tells of a contest between frogs to see which one could jump farthest. In order to win the race, buckshot was fed to the frog that usually won, so that he would be weighed down enough to keep him from winning on that day. It turned into a victory for a different frog that year.

It got me to thinking about how we often get weighed down with unnecessary weight from time to time. That weight comes in the form of extra stress that we hadn’t counted on or possibly a tragedy or loss we didn’t expect. I wonder how that poor frog of Calaveras County fared after that contest. Most of our heavy problems seem insurmountable at times. Where do we turn when the burden becomes so overwhelming that it interferes with our daily performance?

In Mark Twain’s quote about eating the biggest frog first, we get some good advice about dealing with stress. Tackle the big problems first. Then the smaller ones will seem even smaller. This may be good advice if you’re eating a frog, but often in life, we tend to flounder when it comes to the big stuff. God invites us to come to Him with that heavy weight, along with the little things that cause us to worry or stress out. Sometimes that seems so futile when you’re in a tough situation. It requires us to be patient – to have complete faith and trust in the outcome – especially to let go. Giving our problems over to God could seem to be a copout but think about it. You have the Creator of the Universe directing the events of your life. His power, wisdom and presence are enough to provide all the right answers to any situation – good or bad.

It’s Monday. It’s a do-over day. It’s time to turn your life over to the only One you can trust. He alone will lift the heavy load. He will provide the answers you need. He will be at your side through every struggle you face this week. Even if you’re forced to eat a frog.