Burdens....

Burdens....we all have them. Some are hard to bear, some not so hard to bear. Some are short lived and others seem to hang on forever! Usually we are anxious to see them pass.....we forget that often times they are used to teach us something, to perfect our character to help us to become more Christ like. I don't think I have ever known anyone who was completely burden free...although we all long for that at times.

Moses complained about his burden:

Nu 11:11 So Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me?
Nu 11:14 “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.

Psalms tells us clearly what to do with our burdens:

Ps 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

And Jesus promised us this if we would turn to Him:

Mt 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

And finally, we are comanded:

Ga 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

I have been pondering on these thoughts lately...especially the command to bear one another's burdens. How could I make practical application of this scripture in our daily lives? During the Christmas season we practice the Tradition of the Straws....you can read about it here. This has been a wonderful part of our Christmas traditions for many years and encourages a servant spirit throughout the holiday season..... but I wanted to find a way to have Galations 6:2 operating daily in our lives but without making it a "Mom said" thing.

I saw a wonderful idea on another blog....I wish I could remember where so that I could give credit but it inspired me to create.....(ta dah!!)........"Burden Bear"!



Here is the general idea. When you see a way to help "bear the burden" of someone else in the famly, secretly of course (gotta watch that pride thing) then you do so, leaving Burden Bear behind as evidence of the job done. For instance, if you saw a load of laundry needing to be folded, then you could do so and leave Burden Bear on top of the folded clothes. When you receive the blessing it is your turn to look for a way to bless someone else by relieving them of a burden...and leave Burden Bear behind.

Perhaps your way of relieving a burden would be through prayer or fasting....then return Burden Bear to the bookshelf for someone else to use.

So far, it seems to have fostered an excitement in serving each other! I hope that Burden Bear is a part of our family for a longtime!