The Pebble

A man was given a task by his master. He was handed a pebble and told to carry it to the top of a hill. The man went on his way when he was stopped by a friend who asked what he was doing. The man replied, "I am carrying this pebble to the top of the hill." The friend told him that he too had a pebble and since he was already heading up the hill would it be okay if he carried his pebble for him. The man agreed and on he went now carrying two pebbles. Soon an elderly woman stopped him and claiming to be weak and tired asked if he would also carry her pebble.

Before long he could no longer walk up the hill with ease. Each step became a struggle as he carried the pebbles of so many others. Stuck part way up the hill his master said, "what is wrong?" to which the man replied, I can't walk any further for I am carrying too many pebbles that are weighing me down. His master then asked, "Who told you to carry those pebbles? Did I not give you only one to carry? Why then are carrying these others? Those pebbles are not for you to carry or I would have given them to you. They are for those to whom I gave them.

And so it is with us. God gives us a pebble and somehow we end up with a burden that is more than we could or are intended to bear. We mistake our efforts for love or kindness never realizing that it isn't our load to carry. In the bible the prodigal son leaves his father and takes his inheritance to go and spend it as he likes. The father in this story does not chase after nor stop his son. He lets him go. The son learns that he must hit bottom before he can truly learn.
Did not that father care? Of course, he let him go but he waited and he waited for him to return. Eventually his son did return and he had learned his lesson. When you or I carry anothers load we may be keeping them from the lessons that God has for them. Not only that but we are keeping ourselves from that which God has for us. We labor under burdens that were never ours to carry.
Whose pebbles are you carrying today? What pebbles do you need to let go of?

For me I knew that the pebble I was carrying was the worry and responsibility of a 40 something year old sister of mine who has never been able to sustain herself on her own. When it is your family it is very difficult. Where is the fine line between helping and hindering? When is enough - enough? What priority does my own marriage, children and personal well being fit in to all of this? How do I let go? It makes you think!