"Why was my burden so heavy?" I slammed the bedroom door and leaned against it. Is there no rest from this life? I wondered. I stumbled to my bed and dropped onto it, pressing my pillow around my ears to shut out the noise of my existence.
"Oh God," I cried, "let me sleep. Let me sleep forever and never wake up!"
With a deep sob I tried to will myself into oblivion, then welcomed the blackness that came over me.
Light surrounded me as I regained consciousness. I focused on its source: The figure of a man standing before a cross.
"My child," the person asked, "why did you want to come to Me before I am ready to call you?"
"Lord, I'm sorry. It's just that... I can't go on. You see how hard it is for me. Look at this awful burden on my back. I simply can't carry it anymore."
"But haven't I told you to cast all of your burdens upon Me, because I care for you? My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
"I knew You would say that. But why does mine have to be so heavy?"
"My child, everyone in the world has a burden.
Perhaps you would like to
try a different one?"
"I can do that?"
He pointed to several burdens lying at His feet. "You may try any of these."
All of them seemed to be of equal size. But each was labeled with a name.
"There's Joan's," I said. Joan was married
to a wealthy businessman. She lived in a sprawling estate and dresssed
her three daughters in the prettiest designer clothes. Sometimes she drove
me to church in her Cadillac when
my car was broken.
"Let me try that one." How difficult could
her burden be? I thought.
The Lord removed my burden and placed Joan's on my shoulders. I sank my knees beneath its weight. "Take it off!" I said. ""What makes it so heavy?"
"Look inside."
I untied the straps and opened the top. Inside was a figure of her Mother-in-law, and when I lifted it out, it began to speak.
"Joan, you'll never be good enough for my son," it began. "He never should have married you. You're a terrrible mother to my grandchildren..."
I quickly placed the figure back in the pack and withdrew another. It
was Donna, Joan's youngest daughter. Her head was bandaged from
the surgery that had failed to resolve her epilepsy. A third
figure was Joan's brother.
Addicted to drugs, he had been convicted of killing a police officer.
"I see why her burden
is so heavy, Lord. But she's always smiling and
helping others. I didn't realize...."
"Would you like to try another?" He asked quietly.
I tested several. Paula's felt heavy: She was raising four small boys
without a father. Debra's did too: A childhood of sexual abuse and
a marriage of emotional abuse. When I Came to Ruth's burden,
I didn't even
try. I knew that inside I would find arthritis, old age, a demanding
full-time job, and a beloved husband in a nursing home.
"They're all too heavy, Lord" I said. ""Give
back my own."
As I lifted the familiar load once again, It seemed much lighter than
the others.
"Lets look inside" He said.
I turned away, holding it close. "That's not a good
idea," I said.
"Why?"
"There's a lot of junk in there."
"Let Me see."
The gentle thunder of His voice compelled me. I opened my burden.
He pulled out a brick.
"Tell me about this one."
"Lord, You know. It's money. I know we don't suffer like people in some countries or even the homeless here in America. But we have no insurance, and when the kids get sick, we can't always take them to the doctor. They've never been to a dentist. And I'm tired of dressing them in hand-me-downs."
"My child, I will supply all of your needs... and
your children's. I've given them healthy
bodies. I will teach them that expensive clothing doesn't make a
person valuable in My sight."
Then He lifted out the figure of a small boy. "And
this?" He asked.
"Andrew..." I hung my head, ashamed to call
my son a burden. "But,
Lord, he's hyperactive. He's not quiet like the other two. He makes
me so tired. He's always getting hurt, and someone is bound to think
I abuse him. I yell at him all the time.
Someday I may really hurt him...."
"My child," He said, "If
you trust Me, I will renew your strength, if you allow Me to fill you
with My Spirit, I will give you patience."
Then He took some pebbles from my burden.
"Yes, Lord," I said with a sigh. "Those are small. But they're important. I hate my hair. It's thin, and I can't make it look nice. I can't afford to go to the beauty shop. I'm overweight and can't stay on a diet. I hate all my clothes. I hate the way I look!"
"My child, people look at your outward appearance,
but I look at your heart. By My Spirit
you can gain self-control to lose weight. But your beauty
should not come from outward appearance. Instead,
it should come from your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is of great worth in
My sight."
My burden now seemed lighter than before.
"I guess I can handle it now" I said.
"There is more," He said. "Hand Me that last brick."
"Oh, You don't have to take that. I can handle it."
"My child, give it to Me." Again His voice compelled me. He reached out His hand, and for the first time I saw the ugly wound.
"But, Lord, this brick is so awful, so nasty, so.....Lord! What happened to Your hands? They're so scarred!"
No longer focused on my burden, I looked for the first time into His face. In His brow were ragged scars-as though someone had pressed thorns into His flesh.
"Lord," I whispered. "What
happened to You?"
His loving eyes reached into my soul.
"My child, you know. Hand Me the brick. It belongs to Me. I bought it."
"How?"
"With My blood."
"But why, Lord?"
"Because I have loved you with an everlasting love. Give it to Me."
I placed the filthy brick into His wounded palm. It contained all the
dirt and evil of my life: my pride, my selfishness, the depression that
constantly tormented me. He turned to the cross and hurled my brick
into the pool of blood at its base. It hardly made a ripple.
"Now, My child, you need to go back. I will be with you always. When you are troubled, call to Me and I will help you and show you things you cannot imagine now."
"Yes, Lord, I will call on You."
I reached to pick up my burden.
"You may leave that here if you wish. You see all
these burdens?
They are the ones that others have left at
My feet. Joan's, Paula's, Debra's, Ruth's..... When
you leave your burden
here, I carry it with you. Remember, My yoke is easy
and My burden
is light."
As I placed my burden with Him, the light
began to fade. Yet I heard Him whisper, "I will
never leave you, nor forsake you.
A peace flooded my soul.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28, NIV)
And upon his outer garment, even upon his thigh, he has a name written,
King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19:16, NWT)