Weights

He called about 4:00 and I was on my way home from downtown errands.  William, my 5 year old, had homework that involved items to be weighed in ounces, and he needed a scale and he was hoping that I had one.  I told him that I didn't but offered to take him to the Fed Ex office and I am sure they would let us borrow theirs'. Jennifer had workman at her house and surely could have pulled this off at later time, but I will take any one on one opportunity to hang with any of my grandchildren, and this was important, this was homework.  Fifteen minutes later we were off to weigh a banana, a bag of crayolas, and a stick of butter. I knew the guys at Fed Ex; they were more than helpful and I think they even liked the activity.  

The whole exercise, I guess, was to expose children to weights, adding a bit more interest and awareness to ordinary items. I watched as William carefully placed  his item/items on the scale to be weighed and he carefully took note of the changing numbers as the scale calculated the weight. The numbers stopped and there was his answer; and proudly he wrote it on his homework sheet.  The final thing to weigh was a carton of ice cream and I figured that that was heavy enough for a body scale, so we went to Walgreens and he picked his favorite ice cream and he weighed it at home and the final instruction was to eat some after your weighted it.  That was easy. 

We push around the idea of things and situations weighing us down, but that kind of weight cannot be measured on a scale.  It is measured by hindered performance, exhaustion, tilted posture, drained energy, and suppressed hope. We were not meant to have to carry heavy burdens, for the above mentioned consequences will reflect the weights that we have incurred. William was given a task to help him to be more aware of the ordinary holdings that are before him; the weight of each.  We hardly know how the weight of the ordinary holdings that we have gathered, but we become more aware of them as they effect our very sense of peace and  security.

So many folks are with burdened with weights of struggling relationships, finances, overwhelming responsibilities, aging parents, health issues, grieving hearts,  juggling priorities, and worrisome situations etc. and the scales become so tilted that our emotions, mind and body become seriously unbalanced.  God has not wired us to undertake the weight of stress, worry and anxiety, and he has a backup plan for each of us to consider when we see the numbers on the scale changing and the weight of our baggage getting heavier and heavier. Give your burdens to him.  His approach is confident, His arms are strong, His heart is tender, His ways are fruitful and His offer is sincere.  It is a matter of trusting in our own strength and ways or trusting that God will handle things His way.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.            

Harold Sala told a story one time of a man standing on the side of a country road carrying what appeared to be a heavy backpack.  A man driving a flatbed truck comes along and the driver seeing the weariness of the man pulls over and says, "Hey buddy, put your load on the truck bed.  I'll take you to town." We'd wonder at the first man's sanity if he said , "No thanks" - I can handle my burdens without your help." Now suppose the man with the pack does get up on the back of the empty truck, but he refuses to take the pack off even though he is now riding on the back of the truck, You'd probably doubt his sanity even more, right? And then Sala continues with his point: "When a believer worries, he is like the man on the flatbed truck.  He has been given an opportunity to lay his burden down and let Christ carry it for him. Perhaps you are one of those individuals who can handle your worries, but on the other hand, how wise is it for you to carry the burden when God says you should entrust it to him?"

I watched as William carefully observed the changing numbers on the scales.  He was patient and even when the numbers stopped and a weight was calculated, he waited a few moments to make sure that there was no more activity.  We too need to be aware of the changing weights in our lives, even in the ordinary meetings and events and recognize when anxiety and worry begin to take root and weigh us down. Those weights are not meant for us to carry rather for us to release to God himself.  He has told us in scripture not to worry and to let him carry the burdens that are before us, but for one reason or another we so many times are reluctant to give those burdens up to him.  I have to ask myself why, when I realize that I am holding onto something that I have no control over or something that seems to have control over me.  And the answer is quite simple, it is a matter of consciously being in trust mode, either I trust God ...or I don't...plain and simple.  

If life has thrown you some weights that are keeping you down, prayerfully identify them and graciously and non reluctantly give them to God for Him to take care of, and make every effort to be at peace with the transfer.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

^{Luke 21: 34} “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.

Mark 4:19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Dear God, forgive me when I let worries get the best of me; help me to make a daily choice to let go of my worries and live with and ever-growing confidence in your wise guidance and loving protection. Amen     

 

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!