From Burdened to Blessed

I was having one of those days, a day full of this and that and several of the “other things.” Nothing horrendous or devastating, but you know how it is, when things just keep coming and coming, and then suddenly it’s too much.

Encumbered.

So I took a walk.

At first I was too involved with my own issues to notice anything around me. But as I talked with God, He opened my eyes to the stunning beauty around me. The sky was a brilliant blue. The fall leaves displayed their glorious colors in the trees all around; and the fallen ones offered a friendly crunch beneath my feet.

I turned a corner and had to smile. I knew that on this corner was a house whose owner had decided, instead of a big lawn, to plant corn. I’d watched it grow all summer. Now the harvest was over, the brown cornstalks stood straight and bare. And intertwined were morning glories!

Leave it to God to bless me with beauty.

I began really looking around me. I think trees in the fall are a lot like people. Some jump the gun six or eight weeks ahead of time, changing colors to be the first to show off.

Others go half-and-half, not sure where they stand, whether in summer or fall.

Some bide their time, lurking; then, like a firecracker in the span of a day, go all-in.

Some are hold-outs, clinging to all the green they’ve got for as long as they can.

Some are so brilliant they’re almost electrically charged.

Others are more muted in their colors.

And some are content to drop ’em and go to bed early.

Besides the morning glories, there were other late-bloomers.

By the end of my walk, I realized I still had the burdens, but God had blessed me with His joy. Like Psalm 81.6a I removed his shoulder from the burden. Burdens are still there, but God removed my shoulder for a while. He’s going to show me how to deal with each one, in His time.