Bearing Burdens

Recently, I called a friend who carries heavy burdens. She lives alone, has never married, and has no relatives. Surviving on a meager income, she has endured many painful surgeries during the past year and is growing old and weary. She said her burdens became too heavy to bear alone and that she was completely exhausted. So she sat in her bathtub one morning and gave her burdens to God. And he took them from her.

Because life is difficult, we may bear weighty burdens. We may have a difficult job, health problem, relationship, or trial. We may feel weighed down with grief, sorrow, or pain. Someone may have betrayed or abuse us. Someone may have disappointed or deceived us. We can give our burdens to God, and he will carry them for us.

Some burdens we choose to carry. These may include burdens of unnecessary guilt, worry, or fear. We may create heavy weights of malice, bitterness, or self-loathing, place them on our backs, and haul them around day after day until we are ready to collapse. We can ask God to lift these burdens from us, too, and He will carry them.

When we take up our daily cross and carry it, we can pray for strength to bear our burdens. We can ask God to send us friends to help us bear our heavy loads, and we can trust in the Lord's compassion and loving kindness. He has already suffered every pain, sorrow, and trials that we will ever bear. He understands our struggles and waits to comfort us. He will lift us up as we meet the challenges of life, for surely "He hath borne our grief and carried our sorrows."
© Carol Brown