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Saturday, June 27, 2015

On the Personal Nature of Burdens


Fresh flowers ... one of the loveliest parts of summer!

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It is certainly true that each person "knows his own burden and his own grief." (2 Chron. 6:29) To live in this world is to know the pain of struggle and sorrow -- there is no way around it. So we can take it for granted that every person we encounter is struggling. We may not know the particulars, but it's a safe bet that every person we meet is hurting. Each of us has is own burden, his own grief.

And our burdens and griefs really are unique. Unlike happiness, which is often very similar from person to person, sorrow tends to be a more individual thing. Yes, we know that others have suffered  in similar ways (many have suffered more than we), but there is still a distinct and undeniable loneliness that comes with our burdens and our griefs ... and the longer we live, the more we realize that the unique burden we have to bear is intended for us.

::Excerpt from Reaching Forward, June 26::
Gary Henry