Helping Hand By Dr. Juan Harrison
Helping Hand
Like a lot of you these days you find yourself weary, not just tired. You’ve gotten used to it from early days of raising babies to helping an elderly parent make it through those tough last days. Throw in a zillion ball games and PTO programs along the way.
In the midst of a labor-intensive chore one day, it dawned on me how tired I was. I considered my age and figured it came with the territory. Then it came to me that I’ve felt this way a lot of my life. I wasn’t complaining. I was just reminding myself why I might feel a bit pooped. Most of us have found ourselves in constant motion for a big part of our lives. Throw in a set of grands or great grands and you’re starting to feel the need for some Geritol or vitamins.
Life these days can seem pretty hectic in general. Sometimes we babysit; sometimes we share our home; sometimes we get a do over as we might find ourselves raising some young ones left in our care. Life happens while we’re making plans.
At this moment I remind myself once again how blessed my family and I are, not necessarily materially but just hanging in there, talking with each other daily. When you happen to see the older person sitting at home or at the nursing home alone with little human contact, you’re reminded how blessed you are.
I’ve heard it said there’ll be plenty of time to rest in the next life. Not sure about that, but I do know how much I look forward each evening to hitting that pillow and pulling those cool sheets over me. Those shorter nights of past years have morphed into 8,9,10 hour sleeping sessions I only dreamed of in those crazy, hectic younger and middle-aged years.
Jesus was a man along with His identity as God’s son. I’ve often thought about how He walked around some pretty rough country in some not so comfortable sandals. We know at times He was thirsty for drink or weary of crowds as He had himself rowed out into the water as the crowds were pressing him. As His fame grew and the crowds grew larger, you know He had to summon up every bit of energy to help Him overcome his feeling of weariness.
We saw Jesus struggling with his last bit of human strength to try and carry that heavy wooden weight. One day in Jerusalem as I was walking the Via Delarosa I could feel the chill bumps as I realized how He had struggled to travel this way to his crucifixion. Then I remembered how a not so willing individual was pulled out of the crowd to help carry the load.
Even now as us mortals may find ourselves struggling to carry some heavy loads in our weariness, we need to remember that all of us are gonna need a little help along the way. Don’t reject that hand reaching out to help lighten our load.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
