We All Have A Cross To Bear

One thing I have most certainly have learned, is that we do not get to go through life with out having a cross to bear. I’m sure at times it may feel as if we are carrying several…

I was with my Goddess Girlfriends, Heidi and Kathi enjoying our traditional Christmas Bake -Off, and conversation, as always was filled with insights and inspiration.
A comment was made in reference to the fact that I do not know what it is like to struggle with losing weight as I have always been slender. We got to talking about that fact and I then brought up the fact that they do not know what it is like to be a single mom raising a teenage son.
It then became so obvious that we each had a different cross to bear. So we excitedly thought it would be a good exercise to role play and exchange crosses. We discussed the issues/crosses at length we each humbly realized that we had no comprehension what the others felt like and then all too soon realized we would rather, A. keep the cross we had because we would never wish that onto someone else we cared about or, b. Keep the cross we had because it was better than others out there.
While frosting snowmen, rolling holiday balls and putting red and green m&m’s on pretzels, we took some time to reflect on our own crosses. It was such a great silence as the energy was filled with gratitude and compassion.

“The Cross Room”
The young man was struggling, weighed down by the immense weight of the cross he carried each day. Then one day he came upon a room, opened the door, placed down his cross and walked inside. The room was filled, wall to wall with crosses, he was surrounded by them. As he walked about the room he saw crosses of all different shapes and sizes, all different weights and woods.
Just then the man heard the voice of God, “What are you looking for my child?” The man replied, “My cross is so heavy Lord, that I cannot bear it another day…let me take another one, God, a lighter one that’s more manageable and easier to carry.” “Very well,” God said, “choose whichever cross you’d like…”
Some crosses were far to heavy to move, others were so large that they extended into the darkness of the room, toward a ceiling so high that their tops could not be seen. The man walked through the rows of crosses, hundreds upon thousands of them, until he focused in on a small cross in the corner, far smaller than the rest. “I choose this one, God, this is the cross for me.” “But my son, ” God replied, “that’s the cross you came in with…

Author Unknown

It is so strange how we can look out and admire or perhaps become envious when we view others and think that they are the epitome of perfection and want what they have. We can get so bogged down with our crosses, because face it, at times they are quite heavy that we don’t really see or have the energy to pay attention to the fact that everyone has things they are carrying with them through life.
It’s Life, its a journey, it is also miraculous and wonderful when we sit back and realize how fortunate we actually are. There is always someone with a heavier cross to carry. My attitude, after learning this lesson that day is that I will now go through my life proudly carrying mine with a new awareness, while also stopping along the way to give a hand and help someone else to carry theirs should they need it.
I don’t want to trade and I don’t want to give mine away, it is what makes me, me. Jesus carried his cross for each one of us with out complaining or resentment so I think it’s time for me to carry mine for him and find strength knowing that he is always with me.