Sharing our Burdens

The memory on my mind today is a continuation of what I shared yesterday. When I arrived to the hospital that morning and found Darin in such a vulnerable condition, I wasn't prepared.  I kept my composure for his sake, but inside I was crushed.  I felt dizzy and shaky.  I opened my mouth to pray for him, but couldn't produce any words.

And in that moment, when my ability to help Darin was entirely diminished, God sent help.  Mark, a dear and godly friend of ours who had once been Darin's supervisor at a previous job walked into the room. He had a stirring in his soul to come to Darin at that moment.  So he came.  He came to Darin's bedside and prayed fervently for him and me.  And I was granted strength to press on and be present with Darin as his helper.  And this is only one story... there are many similar stories involving other friends that would knock your socks off.  I am so thankful for the generous way that God has over and over again met us at our point of need by mobilizing others to share our burdens when it seemed impossible to carry on.  And I am thankful for the willingness of these friends to respond when compelled in their spirit to come to our aid.

Today I am remembering how crushed in body and soul Jesus was when he was on his way to be crucified.  We are not given a lot of information on this detail of the story, but the scriptures mention by name, a man who was given the task of carrying Jesus' cross for him to the hill where he would be crucified. 

"And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross."

Since we know so little about Simon I can't try to elaborate too much, except to say how moved I am that Jesus had endured so much suffering that another person had to be called upon to carry his cross. It leaves me heartbroken and amazed again at what he willingly subjected himself to save mankind. We have another example of how he humbled himself and knew human sorrow and suffering.  Philippians 2:8 describes what he did so perfectly:

"And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

One of the things that strikes me here in the light of the fact that Jesus received help on his way to the cross, is that it is often pride that prevents the human heart from accepting the help of others.  And Jesus, God in human flesh even gives us an example of humility by receiving help in his despair. May we ALL be willing to follow his example by allowing our brothers and sisters to share our burdens when we are in need.

xoxo,