We all carry life’s burdens every day. My big burden lately has been family health issues and car problems. Daily, I take those burdens to God and receive the reassurance that He is handling things. But there are some things, I confess, that are difficult to hand over to God, even though I know that is exactly what I need to do. The big one that comes to mind is my own mortality and the fact that my aging is not something I can deny. I face it in the mirror daily, every morning as I get up and struggle to get to the bathroom because of mobility issues. God has given me a verse that I recite frequently to remind myself of His care for me.

I love this promise and the fact that He is carrying me, all the way until I get into His arms. I have to admit that some days, I feel that need more than others, but I can rest in His love and His promise.

We often get so wrapped up in our own world and our own problems that we don’t look around us at what others may be facing.

We are a very self-centered people and God knew that about us. It’s part of our sin nature and we have to work at focusing outward towards others instead of only inward towards ourselves.

We are told to carry each other’s burdens. Rather, we are instructed repeatedly to give our burdens to the Lord. I think that one way of doing that is to focus on others, so that we are not so aware of our own burdens. Oftentimes, in fact, our burdens dim when we get a glimpse of the burdens others are lifting. The recent example that immediately comes to my mind is the flooding in Texas that resulted in numerous deaths, including children from a Christian camp. My first instinct was to ask “Why, God?” But I quickly shut that down and instead started praying for the missing children, the parents of those whose bodies were already discovered, the camp counselors and the rescuers. My mind was so occupied praying for strangers that I was not totally absorbed in my own world and its problems. I think that is the way we should be daily, not just during a crisis. Look out…not in because in so doing, that is how we can do the most good for the Kingdom of God.

The real secret to our being free of our burdens in that we help others and God helps us. The promise is that He daily bears our burdens. So, if we know, really know, that Jesus is bearing our burdens, that gives us the freedom and opportunity to look for others that need our help. The neighbor who needs a ride to the doctor. The friend who needs groceries but who won’t ask for help. The young mom who needs a break just to refresh her soul. You get the idea. Helping others isn’t so much time consuming as it is forcing us to look at others instead of ourselves and our own needs so much.

I got this prayer from the YouVersion Daily Refresh today. I prayed it several times before the words became truly meaningful to me. My prayer is that this post today will inspire you to help someone today, in a small way or big way. Just be a helper. Mr. Rogers (TV show from my children’s youth) would like that, and more importantly, I think that so would God!