“Bear ye one another's burdens…”

by

Annette Bergman

I have a dear friend named Sally; we go as far back as Kindergarten. She was probably closer to me than my sisters.  She has always been there for me whether I was right or wrong.  Always patient with me, she would say things like, “Have you ever thought about…?” then she would elaborate on my latest dilemma. She gave me choices or ideas about how to move forward and resolve my issue. She has never judged me, only loved and supported me during trying times, and never told me what to do.  Then during the years when we were raising children I lost contact with her.

When, eventually, we reconnected, I asked her how she had developed this sincere and caring trait. “Why do you listen to everybody’s problems and try to help them?”

“It’s because of my sister, “ she said, “she was a lot younger than us. She started having trouble with her marriage and then turned to drugs, and she didn’t seem to want to help herself.  I was getting fed up with her not listening to me and I just gave up and told her to resolve her problems herself.  I learned the next day she took her own life and I have always felt as if she would be alive today if I had kept listening.  So now I take the time because I know what not caring can lead to.”

I can only imagine the pain and suffering she endured after her sister’s death. But shortly after, she became a surrogate mother to her sister’s children and treats each of them with love and respect.

Is this what God is saying in Galatians 6:2?  It’s certainly worth considering: Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the whole law.”