Word prompt--TRADE
Five minutes to free-write about it
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This week's prompt made me think of a story I heard a long, long time ago that went something like this:
A young man. was going through a hard time and felt as though he had reached the end of his rope. He cried out to the Lord and told Him he could not go on. His cross was too heavy to bear. So the Lord told the man to put it down, and led him into a room filled with crosses of all kinds. He told him he could trade his cross for any of them he wanted.
The man looked around at all the crosses in the room. There were crosses of all sizes. Some were so big they reached the ceiling, some looked very heavy, and then he spotted a tiny cross all the way in a corner at the back of the room. He told the Lord that was the one he wanted. The Lord turned the little cross over to show him the name on the back of it, and it was the man's own cross, the one he had wanted to trade.
Sometimes I feel like that man. I get weary, and the grass seems a lot greener on the other side of the fence. But that thought lasts only for a moment. No matter what I've gone through, even when it has felt like the pits, and even when I wished things were different, I have never wanted to trade my life for anyone else's.
God made us all unique. We are one-of-a-kind Divine originals created for a special purpose and plan that only we can fulfill. He knows what we can and cannot handle, and has equipped us accordingly. Although He does not expect us to do it in our own strength, neither has He equipped us to live out the story He designed someone else to live.
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For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unfomed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. -- Psalm 139:13-16, NIV
I am partial to the tortoise and hare story myself.
ReplyDeleteDon't try to bear another's burden,
ReplyDeletefor that is not your place.
If you attempt it, just be certain
that you will not find grace,
'cause it was never yours to take,
nor was it theirs to give.
Their thirst is not yours to slake,
nor their life yours to live.
Just find contentment as a friend,
and walk with them awhile,
and you will find that at the end
you will have earned a smile,
and a sincere approving nod
from that man, and from your God.
This is a good perspective to keep in mind. Thank you, Sandra.
ReplyDeleteThat's really good, a reminder that everyone is dealing with something and we all need God.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. A wonderful Sunday devotional!
ReplyDeletetrue enough eh? we need to live the life we're predestined to live eh? FMF10
ReplyDeleteI am so glad we are Divine Originals..
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful illustration. I really like it and how it made me think.
Sue
This is beautiful, so glad you shared it. Thank you my friend :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful reminder that God knows exactly what we can handle and equips us for our own unique journey.
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy to think someone else’s life might be easier, but God has a plan just for us. I love how Psalm 139 ties it all together. Thanks for sharing this, Sandra.
Hugs and blessings
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I can do the same, think the grass is greener on the other side.
Then I look at my blessings. No matter how hard things can be or get, I have been blessed with so much. I am grateful. Because many times the grass that looks greener to me, those folks are not living for Christ. That is a good reminder for me.
Carla
Thank you Sandra, a lovely post!
ReplyDelete