A young woman was exhausted that day, defeated and feeling hopeless. In a last small breath of faith, she dropped to her knees in prayer.
"Dear God, I can't go on," she said. "My problems overwhelm me. My burden is too heavy. I must give up."
God answered, "My dear child if you can't bear its weight, place your heavy burden in this plain gray sack I have set before you.
It was a perfect fit. God continued with the instructions.
"Dear one, step inside the door that has opened in front of you. Inside this room, you will see sacks of different sizes containing someone's burdens - large and small, short and tall, light to heavy. You may choose one to leave with. Indeed, none can be as heavy as the one you brought today.
The young woman was filled with relief and said, "Thank you, God."
Upon entering the room, she saw endless sacks in different colors in various textures. Some were enormous, width and height and depth spanning a city block. There were sacks in all shapes and sizes. They were stacked upon each other with barely enough room to move around them. Though she knew the sacks contained somebody else's troubles, she was comforted in knowing she had been relieved of her own.
After walking around for a bit, nudging this sack, and judging that sack, she spotted a tiny bundle, draped in tinsel, with an angel on top.
She picked it up, and it was light as a feather.
"I'll take this one, God." she declared confidently.
God replied with a smile, "Daughter, in that sack is the burden you came in with. You are strong enough to hold it. This sack holds valuable life lessons that will help you grow. I've wrapped it in tinsel, and your guardian angel is with it always. Your burden is like the tree that stands in your living room for Christmas. It bears gifts.
The young woman returned God's smile and gave thanks. Her burden was a blessing all along, and she did not recognize it. She has always had a guardian angel, and she did not know it. She was fortified with her own strength, and she did not believe it. Until that day, she nearly gave up.
By Susan Diamond
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