January 22, 2019

CARRYING OUR BURDENS:

There is a fable told of how birds first got their wings. The story goes that when God first created the little creatures, they had none. Later God made wings and said to the birds, “Here, my little friends, I want you to carry these burdens for me.”

The birds hesitated at first, but before long, they picked up the burdens and placed them on their backs. For a short time, the new burdens seemed heavy and awkward, but before long, they learned to fold the wings over their hearts and the wings soon became attached to their bodies. Before long they learned how to use them and soon they were lifted high into the air. The weights had become wings for flight and through the carrying of the burdens, the birds found freedom.

All of us are wingless birds, meant to soar in the freedom that God provides and freely gives. Life is full of burdens, but we can use our burdens to praise God, fold our “wings” over our hearts, and we can soar free with them. We tend to look at our burdens as heavy loads and we can choose to whine and complain about them, even run from them, but if we will carry them with God’s help, they will serve to lift us toward God.

Paul has said, “All things work together for them that love God,” and this is an example of what he spoke of. By accepting the burdens God asks us to carry, we are lifted to new heights of spirituality.