How the Daily Baggage of Life Can Weigh Your Marriage Down and What to Do!

Recently, I was taking a morning jog through our neighborhood when I felt the familiar feel of my shoe picking up a small rock very early in my route.  Though it did not seem like much, I could feel it in my steps, but more noticeable was the rhythmic click I could hear in each step! 

Without losing my pace, I tried scuffing my foot a few times hoping to dislodge it to no avail.  With no other option but to stop and pluck it out by hand, I decided to turn up my music and let it come along for the ride - I had a pace and heart rate to keep!

Throughout the remainder of my jog, I was occasionally reminded of the rock by feel and by sound but was not concerned as it did not seem to affect my stride or cause any discomfort.  Naturally the first thing I wanted to do as soon as I arrived home was take my shoe off and pluck that pebble out.

I was surprised to find, not a pebble, but a bonafide rock!  It had nestled itself firmly within the void in the tread of the sole beneath my heel.  I thought to myself, there has to be a message in this, and God immediately began blowing my mind!

This rock I had dislodged was approximately one ounce.  Not much weight, right?  However, if you spread that one ounce across every step of my two-mile run, I picked up the equivalent of more than 200 pounds, ounce by ounce during my run! 

It made me think about the weight we carry around in our everyday lives:

• baggage,

• expectations,

• offenses,

• injustices, etc.

…each representing a rock of their own.

As we go through life, we continue accumulating these rocks, often ignoring the physical lump or clicking sounds they create, while we try to focus on jogging forward through our experiences.  We are not thinking about the extra weight or even what that foreign object may be doing to our posture or our joints as our running strides compensate for the physical impediments we are carrying.

Maybe instead of our shoes, we are accumulating these stones in a proverbial "backpack", forcing our shoulders to bear the burden.  Over time we begin accumulating so many stones that we become weighed down and unable to run at all, because rather than dealing with them as they come, we allow them to accumulate.

Our loving Creator did not give us life to be weighed down.  Jesus gives us an alternative.  He tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Brothers and sisters, I encourage you this day to release your burdens and take the yoke of Jesus.  Be free to run your race well and be the best husband, wife, mother, or father you can be!

Rather than allowing the weight of your burdens to accumulate over time and weigh you down and your relationships down, stop your jog and deal with that rock as soon as you pick it up!  Give it to Jesus!  He will lighten your load!  When your load is light, you have the freedom to experience the

•  peace,

• love, and

• joy

...that enhances your marriage and family versus the stress, anxiety, and weight that burdens bring.  Be your best you!  Give it to Jesus!  Be free today!  Run your race well!  We're cheering you on!

Jason D. Goins