Are you carrying too much?

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.”

Galatians 6:2-3 NLT

After years of international travel, I need to come clean about something…..I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to packing my suitcase. I started traveling in the era when you could take 2 suitcases without charge, your luggage was rarely to never weighed, and you could pack entire water bottles, glass bottles, and yes, even wine bottles in your carry-on for an international flight. You may think it was the wild west of flying, and perhaps it was….but  as abnormal as this sounds now, it was entirely normal a few decades ago. As time trudged on and fuel prices escalated, restrictions became more strict as less and less excess was allowed. However, being raised in the wilds of the wild west my carefree packing spirit did not easily comply to the restrictions. In fact, I enjoyed rebelling against it. Packing my suitcases to the max, and putting my heaviest items in my carryon, I was determined to get my moneys worth out of my airfare. Then, the day came when I cried uncle. I was traveling home for a family funeral, and after stuffing my bags, carryon and personal item to the limit….I began to notice how sore I was each time I took a break as I trudged through the airport. A kind gentelman helped me put my carryon on in the overhead compartment and remarked on how heavy it was. Buddy, you don’t even know. Enough was enough, and instead of packing things to the limit, I began to see that I not only had to decrease my load, I would need help to keep carrying it. Either way, this model was not sustainable for the long term, and change became inevitable. 

How many of us are carrying too much? 

Whether it is physical or metaphorical, baggage is baggage. We are only given the capacity that we can carry. Sometimes our yolk is easy and our burden is light. (Sounds oddly familiar, right? Jesus, you know what you’re talking about!) And sometimes, we’ve packed too much. Other times, we have to ask for the kindness of another to help us lift when we are beyond the capacity of ourselves. Regardless of the load- the question burns, if we’re facing or carrying too much, how can we lighten our load?

 I think one thing that is comforting about this passage from Galatians is this: there is nothing that points to us being overburdened when we share in the burdens of another. We don’t take something off of another plate only to burden our own….and we don’t think of ourselves too high and mightily that we fool ourselves into thinking we don’t need each other. Instead, we all share what has been placed before us and somehow, collectively, the load becomes manageable. Obeying Jesus demands this of us. Even as we follow this mandate, we can’t negate the power of what is stated earlier in the Gospel that we take our burdens to Jesus (Matthew 11:30). So whether we are dumping our baggage at the feet of Jesus and then helping a friend, or refusing to carry too much in the first place- our burning question still flares in our face: if we are carrying too much causing us to be burdened- why aren’t we going to Jesus with it? He isn’t interested in overworking us to stress us out, and cause our reserves to be overtaxed. He wants us to come to him, in humility, and surrender. Maybe the point is not that we try to carry too much, but instead we learn how to go to others (Jesus, trusted friends etc.) and encourage others to do the same so that we share the load. Only then can we see the truth: we need Jesus and we need others to accomplish what he has called us to do. 

May we all be found with a yolk that is easy and a burden that is light…..we aren’t meant to do this journey alone friends!

So much love,

Joy