Boulders
and Bags
By
Elin Henderson
“Bear one another’s burdens
and so fulfill the law of Christ….
For each one shall bear
his own load”
Galatians
6:2,5 (NKJV)
How many of you moms feel like the family pack mule? You
go out somewhere and everyone decides to dump their bags and belongings either
with you or in your bag? That’s why I have a purse the size of the
Grand Canyon! It’s for everyone ELSE’s stuff, not just my own. Sometimes I want to shout, “My bag was meant
for me! I fill it, I carry it!!”
As women, we often find ourselves in this quandary of
how much to carry. We have our own loads that we are meant to carry, just like
it says in verse 5 of Galatians 6. They are our bags/loads and no one else can carry them but us. These are the
personal things that are between us and God.
Just as I can’t carry someone else’s “bag,” I also can’t expect anyone
else to carry mine. But, on top of
having our bags, we have boulders in our lives, as well. These are the burdens
(the BIG things) that wear us down. We might have a purse the size of the Grand
Canyon, but we don’t want to have to carry around a boulder from the Grand
Canyon all by ourselves! These boulders/burdens of verse 2 are the heavy, hard
things that God places in our lives that were never meant to be carried
alone.
So, we need to be on a discernment double watch for
boulders and bags. Am I trying to carry someone else’s bag? Or am I expecting
someone else to carry my bag? On the same but different note, am I
allowing others to help me with the boulders in my life AND am I looking for
ways to shoulder the boulders in my friends’ lives?
God grant me the serenity to…shoulder the right
boulders and bear the right bags….and the ability to know the difference!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What are
some boulders in your life that you could use a helping shoulder to bear?
2. Who is the ultimate bag and boulder carrier? (Matthew
11:30)
FURTHER READING:
