Burdens

"Cast your burden on the LORD,and he will sustain you; he will never permit
the righteous to be moved."Psalm 55:22

God has been so gracious to me this week. My heart has been heavy with the burdens of others. When you have a story like mine, hurting people gravitate to me. It is one of those privileges that God has given me—to listen and encourage those who are struggling with their lot. Each time I sit with an individual who needs someone who understands hardship, I am baffled at how God uses me. I have to chuckle at how God can bring about His purposes in the midst of the craziest circumstances.

Sunday night I had set up a meeting and play date with another woman who is currently going through tremendous difficulty. I had the evening all planned out. She would come over, our boys would play, we would talk and problems would be solved. It started off great. The boys began to play with a firetruck, I got beverages and then my cell phone rang. I almost ignored it. This was my time with this hurting woman. She needed me. I looked down and saw Bryan was calling. I decided to answer. Well, long story short, Bryan’s battery had died and he had left the keys in the ignition. There was no way to pop the hood without me driving to Raleigh to open the car door first. On top of that, my step son was waiting at youth group to be picked up and no one could reach him to tell him we were dealing with the car situation. So, my new friend (who I am supposed to be helping), her son, my son, and myself hopped in the car to drive to Raleigh. Oh, I forgot to mention, my new friend is 38 weeks pregnant.

After moving car seats and dragging everyone to the car, we started our journey. The kids chatted and I problem-solved. Suddenly, Tyler says, “Mom, I pooped in my pants.” Of course, I didn’t bring any clothes to change him into! I was utterly embarrassed. What mother doesn’t bring a change of clothes? What 4 year old poops in his pants in a crisis? Ugh, I shuttered with embarrassment but laughed it off. What else do you do? Once we made our pickups, I wrapped Tyler in a jacket (in which he found it humorous to flash everyone in the car on the way home) and we made the trip back home. I could not believe that my plans of having one-on-one focused time were thwarted by all these crazy circumstances. By the time it was all over, it was time for my friend to leave and all I had done was drag a very pregnant girl and her son all over town. After she left, I felt awful. I didn’t even help this poor girl and she drove all the way to Wake Forest to meet with me. As I began to complain, Bryan said, “Beth, it is good for people to see that your life is not perfect.” Gosh, he is so wise.

In the end, God accomplished through those events just what my friend needed. Her e-mail to me the next day thanked me for my time and for the adventure. She also said it was good to see me so happy. I laughed hysterically. But, she saw the real me and my real life. She witnessed a new life that God gave to me when my old one was stripped away. She saw that I am not perfect, and that my life is wild sometimes. She saw me laughing. That is what she needed that day, not my ideas and thoughts on how to cope with her circumstances.

God taught me something very special that day. God doesn’t bring hurting people in my life for me to fix them. He asks me to lead individuals to Him and to take the burdens I feel , and cast them upon Him. My purpose is to love on, encourage and strengthen my sisters. I am merely a vessel that God uses to accomplish His purposes. It is an honor to be used by Him, even in the midst of chaos.