Sometimes it’s nice seeing people we know out and about, and sometimes it’s…. not as nice. I remember one time while at the grocery store, I bumped into someone I knew and hadn’t seen in a while. As we were talking, the person said that they hardly recognized me because of the weight I had put on. My face must have immediately given away that I was taken aback by the comment, and they proceeded to try and back track, but the words were already said.

They weren’t wrong… I had gained weight. I can see it in pictures and the mirror clearly, but there’s something that the mirror doesn’t show… the weight we carry inside. The hurtful words that stick to us. The things of life that weigh us down. The things we need to “lose” or let go of. We all have burdens we carry that weigh us down; however, they are not as apparent as the physical weight we carry. This year I pray we can put down some of the “weight” and be kind to others, as the “weight” they’ve put on may not show.

Small things can still be heavy – what might not look like as much to some, may be heavy to others. I can easily pick up my 15 lb weights, but my 5-year-old has a harder time picking them up. She can do it, but it’s not as easy. People have different strengths, capacities, experience, and abilities. Instead of judging someone for having a difficult time with something that may seem minor to us, we should show compassion and offer help. We should commend them for trying and encourage them to continue. We only fail when we stop trying.

Small things may be light – but is still a burden on top of all the other things we carry. A minor thing in life, may be just that, but sometimes the feather that falls on top the pile makes it crumble. I know when I come home with the groceries, I try to get everything in the house in one trip. I carry as many bags as possible, but we all have a limit to what we can carry. When I reach that, if I add just one more bag, even if it has just one, tiny, light thing in it, it’s going to cause me to drop everything. We do not see every little thing someone is dealing with. They may already be at maximum capacity. If they end up having too much and ‘drops all the bags’, we should help them pick it up, carry it inside, and find where to put it.

Where do we put it?

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30). To take on His yoke, we must lay ours down. He will take our burdens, just as “He ‘bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24).

We are also the body of Christ and are called to, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We should be able to come to each other for help. We need to lift each other up and ease the burden, not add to it. If our load gets too heavy, may we feel confident enough to share with each other, and help one another.

Before going to calvary, Christ prayed that this “cup might pass” from Him (Matt 26:39). Sometimes the things we carry are for a reason and we will still have to endure them. Thank God, we don’t have to carry them alone. Even when Jesus carried His heaviest burden, the cross, the soldiers ‘compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross’ (Mark 15:21).

This Easter, I pray that we would lay whatever weight we are holding down and give it over to the Lord. May we share with our friends and help one another. When we see someone struggle, may we be compelled to help them carry their load. May we lay down the burdens, the sin, the shame, the weight we’ve been carrying. May we lay it all down at the feet of the One who promises us peace and rest… and leave it there.