This past Sunday started out like any other Sunday at our house. Ben and I got up, got ready, got baby up and ready and then headed out the door to church. We had a normal drive to church, we dropped Leilani off in the nursery as usual and then headed upstairs to the sanctuary. We had a time of worship followed by a teaching. Our pastor has been going through the book of Philippians verse by verse. Sunday's message was based on chapter 1 verse 21, the second portion of the verse. The message was about death being gain for the Christian. It wasn't until service was wrapping up that something unusual happened. Something pretty scary at that.
As our pastor began to pray, my husband leaned over to me and said "Chelle, I don't feel good," and then he laid his head on my shoulder. The last time he had said those words to me was when he had the stomach bug and he ended up jumping up shortly after and running for the bathroom. My first reaction when he said this in church was to ask if he was going to throw up. I didn't get a response. I then proceeded to ask him if we needed to leave. No response. Next thing I knew, Ben's head rolled backwards, his eyes rolled back in his head and he began to shake. No one at this point saw what was happening because we were in the middle of praying. He stopped shaking after just a few seconds but he was completely unresponsive to me. I tried patting his leg, wiggling his arm and whispering his name. No response. This is when I started to panic. What should I do? What was wrong with him? Do I yell out and draw everone's attention to us during prayer? Do I tug on the stranger sitting next to me and ask for help? Do I just keep violently shaking Ben and hope he comes to? It didn't help that the whole message we just had was based on death! I felt this pressure build on my chest which I think was fear, but then I looked over and saw my Dad sitting across the aisle from us. That's when I knew what to do. I quietly got out of my seat, sat down next to my Dad and said, "Dad, something is wrong with Ben."
This is where the beautiful lesson comes in. As soon as I passed on my fear to my Dad, I knew that someone else was involved who would know what to do. The weight of the situation was no longer just mine to bear. I felt the pressure lift off of me. Ben was still unconscious at this point and I had no idea what was happening, but as soon as I finished telling my Dad what I knew, we both looked over and Ben had snapped to and was rubbing his eyes. I was able to motion to him to walk out of the sanctuary, we got him some orange juice and water, and he ended up being alright.
(He's going to the Dr. tomorrow just to get checked out, but he hasn't had any other issues since then. We think it was related to a nose bleed he had earlier in the morning as well as some nausea over talk about Paul being beheaded at the end of his life.)
Here is the picture I got though. As soon as I took my fear and uncertainty and brought it to my Dad, a weight and pressure was taken off me. Though I was still in the midst of a scary situation, I was no longer in it alone. I realized, this is exactly what Jesus wants to do for His children.
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
Jesus says to bring all of our burdens to Him. By bringing those burdens to Him, we do not get rid of the situation or the trial or the tough times, but we do allow Him to help carry our pain and our stress, allowing us the opportunity to have a clearer mind and a lighter load during those times.
I realized that so often I try and hold onto my "burdens" because I feel like they are mine to bear. I feel like they are insignificant compared to what others may be going through or in comparison to world hunger, war or natural disasters. The truth of the matter is that nothing is too small to bring to Jesus. He will never turn His children away and call them insignificant. Jesus is that loving father who WANTS to help shoulder the weight of the burden and help us through. The sooner that I release my burden to Him, the sooner I can feel free of the pressures and weariness of this life. Why wouldn't I want to do that?
Jesus, may you always be the FIRST person that I turn to in the good and the bad in my life. Thank you for being my strength when I am weak and my rest when I am weary.
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