Praying To Lift A Burden

I have had to stop praying for God to lift a burden. There are too many times in my past where, in hindsight, something I thought was a burden turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Most times, the burdens that were not lifted were tools that strengthened me.

Today I posted a note on a Group, mentioning my childhood illness. At 8, I was found to have rheumatic fever and an enlarged heart. In the 40s, the only treatment was rest, lots of it, and lots of aspirin, and sulpha drugs to combat infection. From the time I was 8 until I was 16, I did not skate, swim, play in the snow, jump rope, or take gym at school. This cut down my social life and my physical agility. I was shy, an introvert.

However, I also developed a great love of reading, enjoyed handcrafts, learned to listen to the discussions around me, and dove into school studies with dedication. I know that at least twice I prayed to “be like other kids.” Now, I see that I gained so much from that experience. Without the patience that I learned, I would not have been able to handle much of the other things life has tossed at me.

I worry sometimes that parents today want all their kids to be outgoing. Parents who were shy when they were children do not want their kids to be shy. But we need thinkers as well as we need do-ers. We need listeners as well as speakers. There is nothing wrong with shyness or being an introvert unless we are made to feel inferior by those who should give us the most confidence in being ourselves. I was blessed with a mother and father who never made me feel bad about it. It was just being “me.”

The bottom line is that I rarely pray for a burden to be lifted. Instead I pray for the strength to deal with it, to know how to live with it, whatever it is.

Thank you, Dear God, for the wisdom to teach me skills before I need them, so that I will have them when I do need them.