Heavy Water

I got the following in an email today. Not exactly a brand new story, but one worth repeating, I thought. And during a time that, for us, has been quite hectic and stressful, this was a nice shake-awake for me…

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water?' Answers called out ranged from 8oz. To 20oz.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.'

'If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.'

'In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.' He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy,we won't be able to carry on.'

'As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.'

'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.

Cool story and very relevant to most of our lives. As Christians though, the above paragraph isn’t the last word on burdens.

Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

As a child of God, you don’t have to rest so you can pick your stress back up again tomorrow. You can lay it down permanently. “Cast your cares upon Him” (I Peter 5:7), because He loves you.

If your glass is getting heavy, then give it to Jesus.