itsawonderfilledlife

The other night I was thinking about a load I was carrying …

and I drifted off to sleep.

The thoughts became a dream.

In the dream I was an old woman,

and my load was what she carried on her back.

She was sitting on the ground,

under a big tree.

The wind whispered,

You must get up,

a heavy load and fatigue are no reason to stop on this journey.

As she slowly rose to her feet she spoke back to the wind,

Take my load from me,

I cannot keep carrying it’s weight.

The wind did not answer.

The old woman inched down the road,

her destination unclear to her anymore.

She started to daydream of her younger years,

when she knew where she was going,

and the load was so light,

she did not feel it’s presence at all.

She remembered the years of living with joy,

unhindered by the heaviness of what she now carried.

Then she remembered,

the first time she felt it’s burden.

A mix of her own errors,

and those of others that were heaped upon her shoulders.

She remembered rearranging them,

adjusting them,

moving them around

in the sack that she carried them,

hoping to lessen her awareness of their presence.

She remembered hoisting them over her shoulder,

and she kept moving forward,

but, over time,

the weight of them grew,

and her strength depleted.

She remembered a time,

years later, years ago,

when she simply could not take it anymore.

The weight was causing her feet to ache,

her back to bend,

her ability to see the road ahead hindered,

for her eyes were always on the road she stood,

no longer the destination ahead.

In frustration,

she threw her load to the ground,

threw herself to the same ground,

and sobbed,

and cried out to the wind,

take my load,

take me,

but don’t make me carrying it anymore.

The wind whispered,

there is only one way to lessen your load.

I’ll do it,

I’ll do anything!

She cried, raising her head,

feeling the presence of the wind all around.

The wind stopped,

the air stilled,

quiet filled her ears, her soul.

You can lessen your load,

but there is only one way.

Yes, yes I will do anything!

The wind blew into her soul,

You must share it.

You must share it with those around you.

You must share it with family and friends

and let them carry it with you.

No! She exclaimed!

I cannot do that to my family and friend,

For they too have heavy loads.

There is only one other way,

whispered the wind.

Walk in the direction I am blowing,

and I will direct your path.

And so she did,

all the days of her life.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet,a light on my path.”
Psalm 119:105