Today I reached into my purse, and my hand fell on some unexpected things. Odd how I don’t remember putting a spoon in there…And what about that flattened granola bar? How long has THAT been in there? Or the harmonica, or the pair of earrings? And why am I carrying a shoelace and three cough drops? (When was I sick? Three months ago?) The list goes on, and I begin to wonder, when was the last time I cleaned out my purse? Last month? Last year?
I think “last year” is probably closest to the truth. The trouble is, I don’t really notice how things go into my purse; it just happens as the days go by. I need a place to stick a spoon, and into the purse it goes. Then I forget it’s in there, and somehow it never gets back out. Gradually my purse gets heavier and heavier until something—usually pain in my shoulder—makes me realize I’m carrying way too heavy a load. That’s when I finally stop and open it up to see what could possibly be so heavy.
Over and over again, I ask myself, why do I do this? I guess I’m just not paying attention. I know I planned to take the spoon out and put it away in the kitchen. But somehow I got distracted and the spoon just stayed in my purse, forgotten.
I’ve noticed that I have this problem with my spiritual life, too. Time passes, things happen, life goes on, and gradually I wind up carrying more emotional baggage than I should be. After a while I start to feel uncomfortable. My heart gets heavy, dragged down by the pain and suffering I see every day. The struggles of life get hard to bear. I need to unburden my heart to Jesus, and I need to do it more than once a week, just as I need to empty out my purse more than once every few months. Whatever I’m carrying, I need to talk it all out with Jesus.
How easy it is to get distracted and forget to put away the spoon. How easy it is for the cares of the world to keep me from noticing my load getting heavier! I forget to clean out my purse because life is so busy, and I forget to take my burdens to Jesus for the very same reason.
If I don’t do this—if I don’t spend time with Jesus every day—the load I carry will just get heavier and heavier. If I don’t clean out my purse, my shoulder will start to ache, and if I don’t clean out my heart, it will start to ache, too. Then, if I lose track of what I’m carrying, it’s easy for me to forget the greatest truth of all: that Jesus says I don’t have to carry it alone. I need to take a good look at myself everyday and remember above all to lay down my heavy load at Jesus feet. He loves me and will help me carry it—no matter what.
The View from Mt. Hope 