“Life is far more difficult than we let on.”
Alan Noble
Whether it be personal, or relational, or spiritual, or financial, or physical, or something to do with our career, or our future, or our past… the challenges we face are often far greater than we let on. Which simply means that too many people are walking around ‘heavier’ than they should be.
A few weeks back, I finished reading Mr. Noble’s book entitled: ‘On Getting Out of Bed - The Burden & Gift of Living.’ In short, it was super helpful.
For some, getting out of bed in the morning is a tremendous challenge (and I don’t mean just because of a bad back or old knees) whereas for others, not so much. Either way, it’s really more of a question of when we get out of bed, what will we carry with us throughout the day?
We ALL know that life will NOT be free of challenges… it’s just a question of - ‘Who knows of the challenges you’re facing right now?’ In other words, who is helping you to carry and navigate those challenges?
I’m thankful for the few men in my life who are helping me to ‘carry’ the burdens that have historically weighed me down.
I’m thankful for the men in my life who give me grace and patience when I’m being a ‘fleshy fool’ and the men who give me a ‘listening ear’ when I just need to bare my soul without fear of judgment or condemnation.
Life will be hard… Jesus made that clear (see John 16:33), but life does not have to be heavy. A big part of what gathering on Sunday is so that we might experience ‘togetherness.’ GROUPS and serving on TEAMS… all geared towards experiencing ‘togetherness.’
Below is an image of what I see every time I turn on my phone... it’s a reminder I picked up from Alan Noble’s book.
Nine times out of ten, the NEXT THING is often inviting someone else to help me carry the heavy things, and in so doing, I’m able to help make someone else’s load a bit lighter as well.
Grateful for our togetherness.