God's Really the One Carrying the Load

This morning, I was in the midst of a sweet time with our 23 month old son. He had just returned from the trip to take him to the nursery school, because he had "thrown up" his breakfast and we were not sure if he was sick, or just had an upset stomach. I met my carpool mom at the apartment and helped her take him and the carseat out of her SUV. I decided it would be safer, though a bit gross, to take Samuel out of his carseat and carry him with my left arm and carry the carseat with the other arm, my legs, and any other part of my body that could help me limp up the long walkway, into the apartment, through the foyer, up the elevator, down the long hall and into our apartment. Well, if you have ever carried a large booster/carseat, you can relate to how cumbersome and heavy these are. Add a 23 lb child in the left arm, and you might picture how awkard and tiring this was for me. By the time we got in the elevator, I decided it would be better to go ahead and let everything down on the floor and have Samuel walk (knowing his thrown up remnances all over his clothes were now going to flake off on to the floor).

So, when the elevator door opened on our floor, we waddled out into the hallway where I noticed Samuel confidently take hold of a little plastic part on the carseat. He was trying to help me carry this out of the elevator and down the hall. I started to tell him no thank you, that I had it. After all, it would be so much faster if I could carry the full weight at my full standing position, than me bending over to make him think he is really helping - when I knew full well, I was the one carrying the weight. I was just letting him think he was helping so he could grow in his confidence. My back was hurting, my arms were being pulled with the weight, but we proceeded down about 100 feet of the hallway.

Along the way, in addition to the sweet moment I was experiencing, recognizing how my little son wants to help his mommy, it hit me. I believe the Spirit of God showed me.

"Rachelle, this is the picture. This is what I do for you. You think you are helping me. You think you are carrying the load. Really, I can carry it all by myself to get where I am going, but I am letting you come alongside and grab a piece of the load and feel like you are helping. I am carrying it. You are not carrying it alone."

Wow! Powerful. Thank you God for your sweet voice and for carrying the load, AND for letting me a part of your master plans. :)