SHARING THE LOAD

The news hit me like a ton of bricks.

I wasn’t expecting it.

I didn’t even see it coming.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to scream.

I needed to vent.

I needed to unload.

This was one of those times when I felt as if so much had been coming at me lately and to add one more thing was going to tip the scale [not in my favor]. Perhaps this was my breaking point! I grabbed my phone and called a dear friend. Fortunately, she answered. She talked with me, listened to me, encouraged me, sympathized with me, and even laughed with me. Though my problems did not disappear, some way, some how, my load seemed a bit lighter and a little bit easier to bear. I needed that. I am so grateful that she shared that burden with me.

Perhaps you can identify with being in a situation where you were facing a struggle or a challenging situation. You felt as if you couldn’t deal with it any more. It was simply too much for you to bear.  Did you know that God does not want us to go through these struggles or challenges alone? In Galatians 6:2 we read “Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

Do you have anyone that you can depend on to share your burdens? Sometimes the people we need to help us in our struggle are already in our lives. There are also times when God puts people in our lives for a particular season because He knows that they will help us get through a particular situation. In either case, we have to be willing to open up and allow those people to do what God sent them there to do, share the burden.

When was the last time you shared someone else’s burdens? Sometimes we are the ones that others may need to help make it through a particular struggle. We cannot become so consumed with our own lives that we forget to share the burdens of others. It is important to remember that we are called to bear each other’s burdens, a requirement for obedience. You may have to be the shoulder to cry on, the listening ear, the praying friend, or the compassionate heart for someone else. You never know when you will need someone to do that for you.

Be encouraged today!