She complained for thirty years about a nagging shoulder pain, but a long succession of doctors had not been able to explain or to cure the bothersome ache. Now, well into her sixties, she was sitting in front of yet another doctor rehearsing her often told tale. 

After a number of questions and gently probing her shoulder, the doctor asked to examine her large pocketbook. To his amazement he found, along with an assortment of other items, a monkey wrench, a hammer, a large screwdriver, and a heavy flashlight. When asked the reason for such paraphernalia, the women explained that she had been a London fire warden during World War II, and the articles had been a necessity. “I got in the habit of having them with me,” the woman said, “and I’ve carried them ever since.”

The ending of this story was a happy and somewhat obvious one. The doctor advised the one-time fire warden to lighten her forty-year load and within a few weeks her shoulder pain vanished. Perhaps, in this medical odyssey there is a parable about life itself.

Some of us struggle day by day with heavy loads of useless bits and pieces of the past: disappointment, old grudges, assorted anxieties, and things we should put aside and forget but somehow cannot. Weighted down, we plod on wondering why life seems so tiresome and its load so heavy. The person who realizes the load need not be carried alone is fortunate indeed. 

It is the promise of Jesus Christ that if we will bring our burdens to Him, He will refresh and strengthen us. It’s taken me forty-four years but I think I am finally getting the hang of that. It feels good, and I can guarantee you that the load is lighter. Take this new year as an opportunity to unload a few pieces from the past, you’ll feel better! Make it a great year!