Laying Down Burdens

"Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.' Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God."

Luke 13: 10-13

There are burdens we can bear. There are burdens we are meant to carry. Things that make us stronger, that draw us closer. Loads that we can shoulder alongside others and help them carry for a time. This is good. We are meant to do this. We are better for it. 

And then there are burdens we pick up on our own. Things that we aren't meant to bear, burdens that no one can shoulder. Loads we can't ease, can't even assist with, because no one really can. There are heavy loads that only God can ease, only He can carry. And it's best to turn those over to Him. 

I carry more than I should most of the time. Not by anyone's fault but my own. I take it on myself. And I do no good by my insistence on carrying them. But I sometimes can't seem to put them down. I feel bent over, doubled, crippled by it sometimes. Sometimes I can barely see above the ground.

And my sweet husband tells me, reminds me, over and over again: You carry too much. You can't carry all of that. It's not yours. You weren't meant to. And he's right. But I don't always know how to put it down. I can't seem to straighten on my own.

Thank you, Lord that You can free me of those burdens. That You will take the ones that aren't mine. Those better left in Your hands. Thank You. Only You can make me straight. Only You can lift my head, square my shoulders. I can't do it on my own. I'm sorry that I even try. I can carry all I need to carry, and the rest I trust to You.

And thank you, to everyone who was moved to concern over my post from yesterday. Thank you for checking on me, for loving me, for wanting to share my loads. I am fine, and I will be fine. And your encouragement means more to me than you can know. It reminds me that we can all bear one another's burdens. And that we are never, ever, alone.