Burdens Distributed

After helping our son, Erik, and his wife, Kendal, move into their home last week, I am convinced that “armoire” is a French word meaning: a piece of furniture so large that no single human being could ever move it. Armoires are attractive and functional, but huge.

Erik and Kendal found this piece of used furniture through CraigsList, and had done a masterful job of refinishing it. They were thrilled with the spot it would occupy in their home, but every member of their moving crew dreaded the prospect of

moving it.

So last Saturday, after several hours of avoiding the inevitable, it was time. To my surprise, the task proved to be manageable when three people shouldered the task.

Several days later, I ran into Linda and Kathy walking the halls of our office. These women pray diligently for me, for us, and for the mission.

They asked crisp questions about my week and assured me that they were praying. The interaction lasted only a few minutes, but had a powerful impact. By sharing the load, we distributed the burdens of my week among us. I had help lifting my personal armoire.

Prayer does that. The apostle James reminds us that carrying a load alone isn’t practical or biblical: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” ~ James 5:16 (ESV)

Prayer reminds us that we are never alone. No armoire is too large when we each grab a corner, share the load, and carry what we were never intended to carry on our own.

I need... I am inspired... by praying friends.