My challenge is to carry as many grocery bags as I can to limit the amount of trips I have to do from the car to the house.

Galatians 6:1-18

Reference:  v.2  Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  I tend to do most of the grocery shopping in our house.  I'm not complaining, its the only kind of shopping I really like to do.  But when I get home I hate making multiple trips from the car to the house.  So my challenge is to carry as many grocery bags as I can to limit the amount of trips I have to do.  There is always the risk that carrying too many bags will either break my arms or the weight of the bags will cut into my hands, but it's the risk I'm willing to take if it only means one trip into the house!  I often find that I'm very good at picking up multiple bags but the frustration hits when I get to the back door and need to juggle all the bags as well as keys so I can actually get in to the house.  The other day my daughter came shopping with me.  When we got home she grabbed some of the grocery bags from the car and carried them to the house.  I was amazed at how much easier it was to carry all the shopping from the car, as well as unlocking the door, when there was two of us.  I mean, it's no rocket science but having someone help with the shopping bags made the job much less of a burden.

Application:  We often feel like we have all the strength and capabilities to carry our burdens on our own.  While we may think that we can carry everything we find that when we hit an obstacle it can cause everything to come tumbling down.  It's always good to have people give us assistance with physical burdens but the same can go for emotional burdens too.  My mother taught me the saying, 'A problem shared is a problem halved.'  I never really understood how that could be the case, but over the years I have experienced it to be true.  It's amazing how much better I feel when I have spoken to someone about my struggles, instead of just trying to carry them all on my own.  God had no intention of us carrying all of life's burdens on our own.  He created us to be in community and he desires to be a part of that community.  When we all work together, to help and uplift each other, we are living the life that Christ had intended for us.

Prayer:  Lord, sometimes I feel that no one truly understands my situation.  Help me to be open and honest with You and have the courage to trust others with my burdens.  Amen.

Do you need to share your burden with someone today?  Or do you need to be open to be the one to help carry someone else's burden?