AS a little boy, I used to wonder about some tall stone platforms that looked like ancient Druid structures just next to a level crossing we had to pass, and had asked my dad what they were. “They are platforms built years ago for villagers coming into the city to place their baskets of wares which they have been carrying on their heads,” said my dad. “This way they could rest their weary feet for a while, and then when they were refreshed pick up their loads without having to bend down and carry on, on their journey.”
Whoever built them must have been a very thoughtful person! A lecturer was giving a lecture to his students on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, “How heavy do you think this glass of water is?” The students’ answers ranged from 20g to 500gms. The professor smiled at his students, “it doesn’t matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it! If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.”
“If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.” “It is the exact same weight, but the longer you hold it, the heavier it becomes.” “If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becomes increasingly heavier.” “What you have to do,” said the professor, “is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again!”
And what happens to people who do not put their burdens down? Sooner or later the burdens become increasingly heavy, and either they don’t care to reach their destinations or fall dead. We have to learn to put down our work worries, our fears and anxieties so that we can be refreshed and be able to carry on.
A young boy walked with his father three miles from his rural home to his grandmother’s house. While they were visiting, the sun set. The boy says, “Between our home and grandmother’s house was a swamp. That night the croaking of the frogs, the chirping of the crickets and the shadows of the trees frightened me. I asked my father if there was danger of something catching us, but he assured me there was nothing to dread.”
“Then,” said the boy, “my father took my hand and told me to place all my worries and fears in his big hand. Immediately my fears passed away and I was ready to face the world head on! Three little examples, all telling you to put your burdens down and rest awhile. You decide where you want to put yours; on the ground, on the druid-like platform or in God’s hand. When you put them in God’s hands you never have to pick them up again..!
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