November 30, 2014-Burdens

I got to spend some time with my Dad yesterday when we sprung him from the nursing home for awhile.

The process of getting him into and out of the car and house as well as the general experience made him comment that he was not going to come out for a family Christmas gathering.

It made me realize that at 94 years of age the burdens he has now are very different now than at any other time of his long life.

Physical challenges were rarely difficult for him but now he had trouble even lifting his legs and body into a car. I began to think about the fact that we all carry with us different life burdens and we often hide them very well from others.

I woke up with this poem in my head:

A Giving Season

Remember the burdens that others bear,
Know that they are not always easily seen.
What to us may seem small or temporary,
To them may be far too tortuous to share.
A simple offer of peace and comfort provision,
Could be the only blessings they are asking for.

For some...life graces seem few and bare,
Their stocks left empty through unknown chance.
In their case a gracious gift may provide the hope,
Which was faithfully brought to the Father in prayer.
Our blessings come through the process of giving,
Receiving in turn a reaction of love to warm our inner core.

Daily personal affliction for which fellow souls must care,
Might be an unseen wound that seems to never heal.
We may serve as an unexpected deliverer of relief,
To help heal pain another is quietly unwilling to share.
It is certain we do not see some trials that others carry,
Since they are hidden by broken bodies or more.

Giving seasons always carry the heavenly burden to share,
Our own blessings conferred to witness to His sacrifice.
God is seen by looking upon our fellow man with needs,
His graciousness wrapped in an opportunity right there.
All we need to do is be willing to look with a giving heart,
Allowing Him to turn us toward others to even the score.

Burdens come in all shapes and sizes but we all have them. God does not intend on us carrying them alone and He reminds of this many times in His word. Represented by the following verse from Galatians 6:2 in Pauls letter to the churches of Galatia,

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. (‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ NLT)

So as we welcome in the Christmas season over the next three weeks, let us remember the burden of our sins carried for us by Jesus Christ. Let us remember the real meaning of Christmas and what giving truly means.