Carrying the Burden

Lord, will you please carry this burden I hold. Will you please take it away. I don't want it. I can't handle it.

Child, this is not a burden, but a joy. You must find joy in all things I have given you. You must find joy my child. Joy will bring you through. The burden will lift if you find beauty in the way I have created your life.

This was the conversation God and I had today. Right now I feel like I am carrying life's burdens. Every day, everything feels like a burden. I have felt like Kinsley being blind is a burden. I have felt like my other kids being naughty has been a burden. I have felt like my husband wanting to spend time with me has been a burden. Not to mention laundry, dishes, and everything else I need to do as a wife, mother, and homemaker.

I try to have life in order. I try to make sure everyone gets done what needs to get done. I try to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. I try to make sure that I do it all. I carry the burden becasue I don't think any one else can do it as well as I can. I carry the burden because I don't feel like someone else wants to help. I carry the burden because thats who I am. If you asked me right this minute to help you move from one end of the house to the other I would. That's who I am. That's how I was raised.

Today the burden finally crushed me. I was in tears. I spent the day fighting for my child. Advocating for what my precious blind baby needs. I spend the day rocking her and getting her to sleep for five minutes just for her to be awake again. I spent the day discipling my two year old who is going through the dreaded terrible twos. I spent the day feeling quilty that my sweet, loving little boy has been neglected in all of this. I feel that way because he is so good. He doesnt complain. He plays so nicely by himself. I spent the late afternoon trying to wrangle in the attitude of my almost 6 year old. My mind was other places as well. I needed to work on my website for the business. I need to sew the girls' Easter dresses. I need to print off some papers. I need to do this and that.

My husband called after he was done with work and I told him everything that happend during the day. He was short with me. He had a meeting to go to. I so just wanted him to stop everything he was doing and listen but he couldn't. It wasnt in his time or plans. After hanging up with him I cried. I couldnt carry this burden any more. So I went to my heavenly father. This is where we had the conversation above.

I have been looking at all of these things as a burden. Im looking at life all wrong. I need to find the joy in all things! I need to find joy in my almost 6 year old throwing her attitude around. It means that she if forming thoughts and opinions. It means she is alive and well. I need to see the joy in a son that is so content to play by himself. I need to find the joy in Kinsley being blind. There is joy in it all! There is JOY I just need to find it.

Does that mean I will be happy all the time? Does that mean that I will never feel like I am carrying this burden all by myself? Does this mean that I will feel like this burden is going to crush me again? I don't think so. I think at different points on this journey all of those things will feel like they will happen again. I won't be happy all the time. I will have my sad days, my sad hours, or moments. I will have those times where I feel like I'm doing it alone. Like I'm the only one carrying the burden. I then need to remind myself that its not the case. God sent a whole community of believers to surround me and my family. I have many a church members that I can call on if I need to. I need to swallow my pride and let others know that I need them.

Carrying the burden is hard, but its not near as hard when you have God. Its even easier to carry the burden when you look for the JOY in all things big and small, easy or hard.