A Burden Shared

Psalm 33:20-22 (New International Version)

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

I had something weighing heavy on my heart this morning, but as I read some psalms, the verses above, from psalm 33, were like soothing ointment, and peace began to return.

Next, I went outside and found Paul. He was shovelling gravel into a trench that he'd dug for drainage, trying to eliminate a soggy spot in our garden. It was hot out in the sun and his forehead had burned. He mopped the sweat that ran in rivulets down his cheeks, and sat down on a wall with me, prepared to listen.

Even as I unburdened my heart, I knew that I was adding to his load of cares, but I needed him to hear me and he did, halving my worry as he did.

"Unburden;" how aptly we apply that word to sharing a worry with someone else.

By the time I had gone to the Lord and to my dear Paul, I felt so much lighter.

The day before, I was the listener. A friend had come to share her load of anxiety, sheer terror and sense of failure. I felt empty of answers, but I could listen.

Afterwards I could not help but see the humour in the fact that God seems to fill empty things; the empty thing in this case being my head.

As we prayed together before my friend left, among other things, she thanked God for the wisdom she had received. Not from me she didn't, I thought, but I knew that she did get wisdom. It had been in spite of, and perhaps because of, my emptiness.

With God and each other; him being in us; we need never face worries alone. My heart is at peace.

Psalm 55:22 (New International Version)

22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.