When I was young, I enjoyed the fact that I could almost carry my weight. Growing up on a farm, oftentimes, I saw dad grab bags of feed out of the back of the vehicle, toss it over his shoulder, and take off across the field toward the stock barn. Dad had great strength. Oftentimes, he allowed my siblings and I to participate in unloading whatever load he had accumulated, and what dad made look so easy was (in fact) quite heavy (yes, quite heavy indeed). When I married Darrell, we chose to continue as farmers back then (cows, hay, tobacco) working day jobs and then laboring a little more when we arrived home; thus, we enjoyed many opportunities to “carry” heavy items from place to place (just as dad demonstrated).

Back then, my body was young(er) than now;

Back then my mind was sharp(er) than now; &Back then, my strength was strong(er) than now.

Back then (whenever we married on 1986) my ability to shoulder whatever burden needed carrying was second nature, and we did not hesitate to pick up whatever needed to be transported or repaired.

We merely grabbed ahold and heaved up the load. Oftentimes, I have heard mom say about herself, “I was there (when speaking of herself), and the work needed to be accomplished, so we shouldered the weight as it came.
Well, now it’s 2021, and each of us are a little older and hopefully a tad bit brighter (smarter and more mature in our thinking).

So, maybe if you have hung with me until now, you may wonder where all of this ramble is headed. Me too.🤭. Seriously, my point is this. Back then, (when all of us were a bit younger) we cared for animals—bottle-fed calves, herds of cattle, and then feeder calves. Despite the age of the cow, they shared a common trait—-they enjoyed eating, like every day.
So, to a farmer, that meant numerous trips to the feed mill, and to the farmer, that meant carrying several bags of feed. Now, feed millers enjoy creating different weights, and most common seemed either a 50-pound bag or a 100-pound bag, and a farmer is given choice when making a purchase.  To many, the weight of choice is dependent upon the strength of the farmer. As a 5’2″ frame girl, I enjoyed the 50 pound bags, but when given the opportunity, I liked to carry two bags (one per shoulder) for balance, you know. 
I had often seen dad and Darrell do as much, and if they could, then I could too. Silly, I know, because there was one distinct difference.  They were stronger than I, but that fact often alluded me until I reached the halfway point with my load.
As a Christian, we often struggle with burdens (ours and others). We may choose to not share our burden with another believer, thinking that if we do, they will think of our faith as weak.  We also may choose to carry the burden of a sister or brother in Christ, carrying it around with us wherever we go, throughout our day, never pausing to ask another to assist us in carrying the load.
Both instances are NOT what the Bible instructs us to do. In fact, the Bible offers so many passages that speak quite the opposite.  One passage that came today is found in the apostle Paul’s letter to the congregation of believers in Rome.
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the LORD; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality” (Romans 12: 9-14).

The needs of the saints are many because we are so human, and we come from so many places (homes), bringing with us the burdens given to us by our families. 
So what shall we glean from these words today?  It is this.  Just because we have given our hearts to God and accepted His gift of salvation does not make us exempt from the weight of life burdens. If anything is true, it is this—as believers, we like to throw our burden across one shoulder, while also having another brother’s or sister’s burden across our other shoulder.  While it is true, we are instructed to bear one another’s burdens, we are NOT commanded to carry those burdens all alone.

Instead, we give our burdens to God.

Instead, we do not walk around as hypocrites, pretending to be able to carry the world when our shoulders are aching from all the weight.

Instead, we are to NOT listen to the lies of the evil one (of Satan) who continually shouts lies to our face, telling us that IF God really loved us, well then surely our burdens would be lighter.  Surely. Surely Not. Maybe our burden is heavier, more weighty BECAUSE of our faith.
We are to be devoted to one another (to our brothers and sisters in Christ). We are to give them preference, helping them daily, knowing that as we do, we are also helping the unbelievers see the love and light of Christ Jesus our LORD.  We are NOT to lag behind, but we are to help immediately.  We are to serve the LORD with fervor, rejoice in the hope of Christ Jesus, persevere when trials and tribulations come to us, and be totally devoted to prayer. God is aware of our burdens. Yes, God totally knows what we are carrying.  He gives to believers other believers who are walking with us, beside us, to help shoulder our load. In helping one another, we practice hospitality, and the world could use a huge dose of that, wouldn’t you agree!!!!
My earthly dad taught me so much as I grew up on a farm. He always reminded me to lift up my burdens with my knees, to allow a sibling to shoulder half of the load, and to never turn my back on someone in my family who needed me. My heavenly Father God taught me the same. (In fact God taught dad, who then taught me.

Let us lift our burdens and those of our brothers and sisters down upon our knees.

Let us always shoulder half of their burdens. &

Let us never turn our back on those brothers & sisters who need our help.

Today, may we kneel down on our knees, lift up our prayers to God, and ask Him to lead us to a saint (a brother or sister in Christ) who needs our help today. And then when God gives to us the name of those who need us, may we then arise and go to that sibling-in-Christ and offer to carry half of their load.

May we trust God’s leading today.

May we obey God today.

May we love out loud. TODAY.