“Our unique burdens help us to rely on the merits, mercy,
and grace of God." ~ 2 Nephi 2:8
Brandon wanted a new 4WD truck. Kris, his wife was convinced that he didn’t
“need” one so much as he “wanted” one. A
playful conversation between husband and wife ensued to outline the advantages
and disadvantages of such a purchase.
“I get the ‘guy-thing’ of owning a four-wheel-drive truck,”
Kris began. “But why do we need
one?”
He replied with what he believed to be the perfect response:
“What if during a terrible storm, we needed milk for the kids, and the only way
I could get to the grocery store was in a 4WD pickup?”
Kris grinned before replying, “If we buy a new truck, we won’t
have money for milk - so why worry about getting to the store in an emergency!”
Eventually they reached a compromise – a family vacation for
a used 4WD pickup truck. Brandon, ever
so anxious to validate the worth of his wise “investment,” decided he’d cut and
haul a supply of firewood for their home.
Snow had already fallen in the mountains where he intended
to cut wood. As he crawled his way up
the steep ascent at the end of a private service road, the snow got deeper. With no worries, he slipped his truck into
four wheel drive and kept going.
His confidence was sadly overrated. As he backed the truck off of the road to the
place he’d decided to cut wood, the vehicle pitched sideways, right off road. All four wheels spun hopelessly in the icy snow.
Embarrassment quickly overshadowed fear
at his foolish predicament.
There he sat; more embarrassed that scared, 5 miles from the
nearest highway, 20 miles from the nearest town, burning daylight. Knowing that he’d freeze to death by just
sitting there, Brandon climbed out of the vehicle and started chopping wood. Before long, he’d completely filled the entire
pickup bed with oak and maple logs.
Determined to try driving out of the snow one last time,
Brandon placed the truck in gear, applied power, and miraculously inched
forward. Slowly the fully-loaded vehicle
moved back onto the road. The weight of
the load provided the traction necessary to free Brandon from the snow. He headed for home a humbled man.
Each of us carries a load comprised of demands and
opportunities, obligations and privileges, afflictions and blessings, and
options and constraints.
Sometimes we mistakenly may believe that happiness is the
absence of any burdens. But bearing a
load is a necessary and essential part of God’s plan for our happiness. Because the load we carry needs to generate
spiritual traction, we should avoid hauling so many nice but unnecessary things
that we become distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most.
Heavenly
Father, is the load I’m carrying generating the spiritual traction that’ll
enable me to press forward with faith in Christ and avoid getting stuck? Is my load creating sufficient spiritual
traction so I ultimately can return home to You? Amen
