The gift of Burden 

It's almost noon and yet it’s still cool and rainy out here underneath the covered deck. I am amazed at the peace surrounding us. We were told it would be noisy due to the traffic here at the lake; people partying. But it has been so quiet. 

I thought about our pastor last night after watching his Sunday morning message. He was preaching a sermon as Di and I watched online. I was taken back by the picture of him at the podium. He looked drained and measured with his words. Longer than usual pauses between sentences and again, words measured as though he was carefully deciding on the right ones to choose. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. It was as though the weight of the world was weighing him down and he was struggling to get through to the audience; an urgency if you will I hadn’t noticed before. 

This man is a man among men. His example stands like a torch, yet he is humble and funny and always helping someone in need. I would do well to measure up to his image; as much like Christ as I have known in a man before. We all love him with a passionate love and gladly, willingly follow him as our shepherd.  

But this time I wanted to rush up to him and embrace him and tell him, “It will be alright”; not unlike what I have heard him say so many times to others. 

The burdens we take on can certainly be telling. The shoulders droop, the face becomes slightly gaunt, and the eyes look deeply into everything, evaluating and questioning. The measure of responsibility that we are willing to take on will and can bring us down without ‘reinforcement’ coming to our aid.  

I know my Pastor prays and gets answers to those prayers. I know that he is being sustained by a great power that can only come from the Creator. But he is certainly paying the price for his devotion. Not many are that willing to ‘suffer the cost’ in this day and time. Most only want recognition or power or money or all of the above. It’s a good thing he has such a formidable ‘partner’. Her efforts to organize, assemble, preach, sing, and that’s only a few of the things she accomplishes, are full on ‘get down’ all the time. I don’t think I can keep up with her walking. She is across the room by the time I can get up from my chair. 

The two of them are, put mildly, awesome. 

If we had people like this guiding the country, we wouldn’t have the problems we do. Down to earth thinking with guidance and discernment are invaluable traits. Lack of leadership is costing us our freedom in minute increments; little by little eating away at our liberty.  

I listen to the prophets and scholars foretelling the future. One says this, another says that. Who can ‘reason’ the real? When did we get away from ‘hearing from God’ about how to handle things? I’m sure a lot of them are right but to what degree? How do we know who to trust in this Topsy Turvey world where everything is turned upside down, inside out and twisted to fit ‘opinions’ that are directly contrary to God’s laws? 

At this point, I can only add to the ‘rant’. What can I do to change things? Maybe more than we think. By God, we overcome. By God we ‘see’ what to do and by God we succeed. It’s all a matter of putting God first and following the leader into the future with assurance and confidence and ‘the peace that passes all understanding’. 

I began this note with an observation. Maybe I should keep my opinions to myself a little more, but I love the people around me and I don’t want them to suffer needlessly. We sometimes take on more than we should, perhaps, when God is saying ‘leave all your cares with me because I care for you’, all of you. 

This war isn ‘t over. We have ‘miles to go before we sleep’. The way to victory is by way of the cross; the milestone, the ‘marker’ that shows us which way is right. I’m still a novice, I know, but I’m gaining on it.