Why is it that the people closest to us don't always notice when we have fallen? I am so thankful for an old friend who happened into my office last week. She saw things that had gradually taken over my attitude. She saw that I was in a bad place. Boldly, she approached me a few days later. Reminding me to keep my eyes on the Lord, she pulled my reality back into clear focus.
After we talked I reflected on the brief, yet very profound, conversation. I was keenly aware of amazement at what had just happened. I can't say that I had been on the receiving end of such an encounter before. The thought crossed my mind --- should I be offended? Well, that thought lasted only a quick second. What followed was gratitude and relief.
Gratitude that someone would say to me, "You have to remember what God's Word says." Relief because hearing His Word spoken over me brought freedom. It was so easy to sink into a muddy pit of misery. The quicksand of selfishness swallowed me quickly. However, when I turned to the promises of God's word, He pulled me out of the mess and cleansed me from the filth I had been sinking into.
Sometimes the daily grind of life becomes too heavy to carry alone. Oh, we sure try to keep going. Think of a basket. (You know, the baskets and tubs the ladies in Haiti carry on their heads.) Placing the basket up on our heads, we gain our balance, and off we go into the day. Picking up a worry here and a heartache there, we toss them up, catch them, regain our balance, and keep on going. Rather than emptying the basket before heading out the next day, we pick it up - a little heavier now - and go back to our routine. Each day we toss a little more up there. Small things...none of them huge or particularly heavy on their own...but gradually the weight adds up. Day by day we go on, our steps are harder to take, we begin to stumble. Finally, into the ditch we go. Bruised and scraped pain shoots through our heart and body as we realize what has happened. We have fallen, and we can't get up.
The burdens and heartaches, worries and fears are strewn about. The basket is crushed from the weight of it all. Good!! Leave all that junk there! Why were you carrying it around anyway? God tells us, invites us, even begs us in I Peter 5:7 to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. Cast them = throw them. God loves me. He loves you. He is waiting to carry the basket. Patiently He watches as we continue tossing stuff in. Can't you hear Him?
"I'll carry that for you."
"You don't have to do this alone, let me help."
"That looks heavy. Here, let me."
Stubbornly, though, I have clung to my basket. I have held on and tried to keep it balanced. I don't want help. I don't want to appear weak. I don't want to admit I can't do this!
You see, when my focus is centered on balancing my basket, I am forced to shift my entire life focus to it completely. It is the only thing I can think about. My steps are slow with shuffling and stumbling. I can't turn my head to the left or right. Careful. Don't trip. Stand straight. But the load shifted and down I went.
Luke 12:22-26 Jesus said to His disciples, "I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; don't worry about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, they have no storehouse or barn; and God feeds them. Aren't you more valuable than the birds? Can you make yourself taller by worrying? If you can't do that why do you worry about the rest?"
What is in your basket? Concerns about money? Worry about your child's life choices? Frustration on your job? Fear for the future? Indecision? Bitterness from past hurts? Embarrassment over past mistakes? Anger at your spouse? Envy of someone else's life?
Is your basket getting heavier? Less stable? It is going to be so much better if you take the basket and empty it at the feet of Jesus. Do what He invites you to do, cast all your cares on Him. He will listen and take your burdens upon His own shoulders. Jesus loves you so much! He doesn't want you to take this walk alone.
Regarding my friend, Susan: I was so stunned at the time that I can't really say for sure, but I'm pretty sure the verse she spoke over me was Colossians 3:17. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. She went on to say, "Stop looking at life horizontally. You have to look up - to the Lord. Your focus has been on the people around you. You need to focus on the Lord." The beautiful thing is she said these words just minutes before Jennifer Rothschild spoke. Jennifer's topic for the weekend? Mooove It. She taught about moving to the other side! Getting on with what God has planned. Leaving behind those things that are keeping us from a close relationship with Christ. Suddenly I realized I was like that lady in Haiti who had three watermelons in the tub she carried on her head. I have trouble just carrying one watermelon in my arms! Let's understand that the ladies who carry these loads have stiff, deformed necks, and much pain. It is life altering, carrying all that heavy stuff everyday.
I had fallen hard and the hurt I was experiencing was shooting out of me at the people who were standing in my path. Maybe it took someone outside my closest circle of friends because she isn't there everyday, and when she was there she saw the drastic change. Whatever the reason, I praise the Lord! Thank you, Susan, God sent you to me when I needed you most.
Vicki
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