Carry Each Other's Burdens

I was truly humbled by the love and service shown by my new friend Carline (pictured). I have often struggled with boundaries and helping others – how much is too much? How do I know the difference between “loving” and “fixing” others? How do I carry another’s burdens without taking on too much and jeopardizing my own spiritual and mental health? In Galatians 6:2 it says we are to “Carry each other’s burdens,” and then further along in verse 6 it says, “each one should carry his own load.” I have read in Cloud and Townsend’s “Boundaries” book that the important distinction here is between “burden” and “load.” Carline gave me the most incredible example of this concept...

I started the long and hot walk back to our village one evening after visiting the orphanage where I had spent precious time with Wendy, Woody, and Wilnes. I realized that I might not see them again, because we would be leaving the next day. This overwhelming sadness came over me, and I could not hold back the tears. I hoped my sunglasses would hide them, so Carline, walking alongside me, could not see them. Carline is one of the “mamas” at the orphanage. These mamas serve as a mother figure and take care of the orphans’ needs. When she saw my tears, she began pulling my backpack off my back. She cannot speak English, so this was her way of communicating to me that she wanted to help carry my burden. At first I would not let her, but she held up her hand and insisted in the English she knew, “no, I carry!” She then held my hand as we continued the walk home, and I cried out all my pain. When the tears dried up, she then handed over my backpack to carry on my own again. In Carline’s beautiful act of compassion, she carried my burden while I could not…and then gave it back to me when I was ready to carry my own load. Thank you, Carline.