Sound of Surviving Blog

I think we all have moments where we feel like our struggle, like our burden, is too much for us to carry. But we put on a brave face and keep pushing forward. As we do, we look around and wonder why it seems like no one else around us is carrying a load with them. Everyone around us seems to be sailing right through life without a care. Why are we the only ones who have to work so hard to muddle through life?

But if we’re covering our loads with a smile, couldn’t everyone else be doing the same? Yes, of course they are. No one likes to openly display the things they carry. Just like we don’t walk around with see-through purses, no one walks around openly showing off their heaps of anxiety, stress, pain, worry, and doubt. Our oversized bags, our messiness, like our purse contents, are easier to keep neatly tucked and concealed on the inside.

You see, we all carry our piles of hardships. Every single person who walks this earth, will deal with their fair share of trials and pain. No one gets by scot-free. Everyone at one point or another, has made the same choice as you, to get up, drag their baggage out to the car, to their office, and just before they walk through the door, plaster on a kind face in hopes that no one recognizes the now invisible to the world cargo beside them.

Sometimes we try to compare our struggles, like teenage girls comparing their manicures. But the thing is, no one’s struggles are better or worse than anyone else’s.

Our cargoes might look a little different to some people, but the truth is, they’re not all that different from one another. We are all just trying to shoulder our unwanted carry-ons, to live our lives. Because that’s all we can do each day is to try. To take the next step.

Thankfully, we do have someone to help carry our loads, someone who sees them, despite their invisibility. We have God. We see multiple times through the bible where we are told to give our heavy burdens over to God. Sometimes we don’t want to; we’ve been carrying them for so long, we might feel empty without them. Besides, we can handle it. But in Matthew 11:28, God says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And in 1 Peter 5:7, we are instructed to “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” And who knows, maybe by watching us hand our loads over to God, and see how we can walk a little easier, others will be inspired to give over their burdens too. We might just start a new trend.