Too Heavy to Carry

for Sarah, and all whose bag is too heavy to carry.

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

Matthew 26:28

 

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.

Deuteronomy 33:12

 

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fail; God will help her at break of day.

Psalm 46:4-5

Forgiveness is like a suitcase too heavy to carry.

There once was a little girl who had to take a long journey. Her father saw her straining at her bag, unable to lift it. She was exhausted from the effort. But she could not live without the contents of this unbearable bag.

Can I carry it for you?

Scooping her up to ride on his shoulders, her father picked up the bag and they set out on the journey together.

From the heights of his shoulders, she could see her father’s capable hands carrying her burden. She could not feel its weight; only his solid strength beneath her. Sometimes she even slept, secure and safe, her chin resting on his head.

Through dark valleys and over rocky crags they journeyed. Sometimes they stopped in grassy meadows by quiet streams to rest. Other times they climbed high upon a rock and looked out over the vast world. 

Her father never complained about the burdens he carried; her bag in his hand, his child on his shoulders.

One day early in the morning as the sun painted the surface of the earth with a wash of pastels, they arrived at a river. In the distance, she could see home. Her father gently lifted her from his shoulders and set her feet on the shore. She felt light somehow like she could float across that river if she wanted to. Being carried for so long does that to a person.

We will walk together from here, he said..

He held out her hand to her. She looked at her burdensome bag sitting in the sand and then back at her father, his kind eyes inviting her to come.

I don’t think I actually need this anymore.

Her heart was brimming with an anticipation she couldn’t explain, something thrilling and new. 

You won’t need anything where we are going, he answered.

Taking her father’s hand, she left behind the bag that was too heavy to carry and crossed the river. In her new home, she never thought again about that burdensome bag, the one she couldn’t live without, the one she couldn’t lift, the one her Father carried for her all the way to the River.

Lord, thank you for carrying me and my burdensome bag all the way to the River. Amen.

Forgiveness is like a suitcase too heavy to carry. But we have a helper. #forgiveness Share on X

@audreycfrank

Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash