I got this in an email and wanted to post it here because it really spoke to me. Plus I know a lot of us<BR>here have gone through and are currently going through some really hard times. This isn't meant to be a "down your throat"<BR>religious thing, it's just something I'd like to pass along. <P>The Burden By Louise Gouge <BR>"Why was my burden so heavy?" I slammed the bedroom door and leaned against it. Is there no rest from this life? I wondered.<BR>I stumbled to my bed and dropped onto it, pressing my pillow around my ears to shut out the noise of my existence. <P>"Oh God," I cried, "let me sleep. Let me sleep forever and never wake up!" With a deep sob I tried to will myself into oblivion,<BR>then welcomed the blackness that came over me. <P>Light surrounded me as I regained consciousness. I focused on its source: the figure of a man standing before a cross. <P>"My child," the person asked, "why did you want to come to Me before I am ready to call you?" <P>"Lord, I'm sorry. It's just that... I can't go on. You see how hard it is for me. Look at this awful burden on my back. I simply<BR>can't carry it anymore." <P>"But haven't I told you to cast all of your burdens upon Me, because I care for you? My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." <P>"I knew You would say that. But why does mine have to be so heavy?" <P>"My child, everyone in the world has a burden. Perhaps you would like to try a different one?" <P>"I can do that?" <P>He pointed to several burdens lying at His feet. "You may try any of these." <P>All of them seemed to be of equal size. But each was labeled with a name. <P>"Why there's Joan's!" I said. Joan was married to a wealthy businessman. She lived in a sprawling estate and dressed her three<BR>daughters in the prettiest designer clothes. Sometimes she drove me to church in her Cadillac when my car was broken. <P>"Let me try that one." How difficult could her burden be? I thought. <P>The Lord removed my burden and placed Joan's on my shoulders. I sank to my knees beneath its weight. "Take it off!" I said.<BR>"What makes it so heavy?" <P>"Look inside." <P>I untied the straps and opened the top. Inside was a figure of her Mother-in-law, and when I lifted it out, it began to speak.<BR>"Joan, you'll never be good enough for my son," it began. "He never should have married you. You're a terrible mother to my<BR>grandchildren..." <P>I quickly placed the figure back in the pack and withdrew another. It was Donna, Joan's youngest daughter. Her head was<BR>bandaged from the surgery that had failed to resolve her epilepsy. <P>A third figure was Joan's brother. Addicted to drugs, he had been convicted of killing a police officer. <P>"I see why her burden is so heavy, Lord. But she's always smiling and helping others. I didn't realize..." <P>"Would you like to try another?" He asked quietly. <P>I tested several. Paula's felt heavy: She was raising four small boys without a father. Debra's did too: a childhood of sexual<BR>abuse and a marriage of emotional abuse. When I came to Ruth's burden, I didn't even try. I knew that inside I would find<BR>arthritis, old age, a demanding full-time job, and a beloved husband in a nursing home. <P>"They're all too heavy, Lord." I said. "Give back my own." <P>As I lifted the familiar load once again, It seemed much lighter than the others. <P>"Lets look inside." He said. <P>I turned away, holding it close. "That's not a good idea," I said. <BR>"Why?" <P>"There's a lot of junk in there." <P>"Let Me see." <P>The gentle thunder of His voice compelled me. I opened my burden. <P>He pulled out a brick. <P>"Tell me about this one." <P>"Lord, You know. It's money. I know we don't suffer like people in some countries or even the homeless here in America. But<BR>we have no insurance, and when the kids get sick, we can't always take them to the doctor. They've never been to a dentist.<BR>And I'm tired of dressing them in hand-me-downs." <P>"My child, I will supply all of your needs... and your children's. I've given them healthy bodies. I will teach them that expensive<BR>clothing doesn't make a person valuable in My sight." <P>Then He lifted out the figure of a small boy. "And this?" He asked. <P>"Andrew..." I hung my head, ashamed to call my son a burden. "But, Lord, he's hyperactive. He's not quiet like the other two.<BR>He makes me so tired. He's always getting hurt, and someone is bound to think I abuse him. I yell at him all the time. Someday<BR>I may really hurt him...." <P>"My child," He said, "if you trust Me, I will renew your strength. If you allow Me to fill you with My Spirit, I will give you<BR>patience." <P>Then He took some pebbles from my burden. <P>"Yes, Lord," I said with a sigh. "Those are small. But they're important. I hate my hair. It's thin, and I can't make it look nice. I<BR>can't afford to go to the beauty shop. I'm overweight and can't stay on a diet. I hate all my clothes. I hate the way I look!" <P>"My child, people look at your outward appearance, but I look at your heart. By My Spirit you can gain self-control to lose<BR>weight. But your beauty should not come from outward appearance. Instead, it should come from your inner self, the unfading<BR>beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in My sight." <P>My burden now seemed lighter than before. <P>"I guess I can handle it now." I said. <P>"There is more." He said. "Hand Me that last brick." <P>"Oh, You don't have to take that. I can handle it." <P>"My child, give it to Me." Again His voice compelled me. He reached out His hand, and for the first time I saw the ugly wound. <P>"But, Lord, this brick is so awful, so nasty, so.....Lord! What happened to Your hands? They're so scarred!" No longer<BR>focused on my burden, I looked for the first time into His face. In His brow were ragged scars --as though someone had<BR>pressed thorns into His flesh. <P>"Lord," I whispered. "What happened to You?" <P>His loving eyes reached into my soul. <P>"My child, you know. Hand Me the brick. It belongs to Me. I bought it." <P>"How?" <P>"With My blood." <P>"But why, Lord?" <P>"Because I have loved you with an Everlasting Love. Give it to Me." <P>I placed the filthy brick into His wounded palm. It contained all the dirt and evil of my life: my pride, my selfishness, the<BR>depression that constantly tormented me. <P>He turned to the cross and hurled my brick into the pool of blood at it's base. It hardly made a ripple. <P>"Now, My child, you need to go back. I will be with you always. When you are troubled, call to Me and I will help you and<BR>show you things you cannot imagine now." <P>"Yes, Lord, I will call on You." <P>I reached to pick up my burden. <P>"You may leave that here if you wish. You see all these burdens? They are the ones that others have left at My feet. Joan's,<BR>Paula's, Debra's, Ruth's..... When you leave your burden here, I carry it with you. Remember, My yoke is easy and My burden<BR>is light." <P>As I placed my burden with Him, the light began to fade. Yet I heard Him whisper, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." <P>A peace flooded my soul. <BR>
