Heaviness hangs over us like a thick fog of uncertainty or cloud of impending doom. It comes from living in unprecedented times. The daily onslaught blaring from our devices or TVs of racial strife, economic demise, or domestic and international turmoil combined with the depressing realities of shuttered stores and people trudging about in masks, layer on us brick by brick burdens too heavy to carry. We were not meant to carry all of this. None of our shoulders is broad enough and strong enough to hold it all.

Three weeks ago suddenly and without notice I lost my mother. Though God graciously took her without pain the weight of her loss and the grief I feel have been heavy upon me. As if the pressure of COVID and the economic uncertainty facing our family were not enough, now this too. Many of you are feeling the same- how much more can we handle? Some of you have lost a job. Some are facing frightening financial hardship, others are reeling from news of a sudden- even terminal, illness. How much more can we handle? Not much – not very well, anyway and not without the bricks pressing the last bit of strength and hope out of us.

I want to share one idea that has been my rock throughout these times. I run back to it every time the bricks prove too heavy – believe me that is a lot these days: Carry only what you have been called to carry- no more, no less. Here is how I’ve been learning to do this:

In the ensuing days/weeks after my mother’s death my heart was heavy with grief and filled with concern: the funeral arrangements around COVID, the selling of her house, and especially the unity of my family. I felt the weightiness of each individual brick- each burden.

But something happened to the weight of these bricks as I quietly listened to music or sat in stillness- I encountered Jesus. He truly cared for me and would often tell me as I shared a concern, “This one is not for you to carry-it is too much for you. Give it to me.” Whether it was about my sisters’ grief or family unity- He wanted all of it -every last brick- every burden. I kept being invited to place everyone and everything on His shoulders. When something would arise and I would find myself headed back to pick up the brick He’d remind me, “That is not for you to carry.” Eventually I remarked that I had nothing more to carry. “What am I supposed to carry?” Wisely Jesus answered, “Yes you do, Ed- your own grief but I will help you carry that too.”

Knowing what is mine to carry and what is not has been liberating. I cannot take on what He has not given me -no matter how persuasive the appeal. May you carry only what God has given you and let Him help you carry even that too.