Last week, in one of our circuit classes, we had an exercise where you could move the pin on the weight stack to adjust the resistance.
We were moving from station to station when the next person walked up to that exercise and attempted to do it using the same weight as the person before her.
It didn’t go so well.
She made all sorts of movements trying to complete the exercise, but the reality was simple—the weight was too heavy.
In an exercise class, moments like that might remind you of those funny gym videos you see online where people are doing all kinds of crazy things on workout machines.
It’s funny in the gym.
It’s not so funny in life when we do the same thing.
So many of us are guilty of trying to carry someone else’s weight as if it were our own—when we were never equipped to carry it.
And what happens?
We spend a lot of energy trying to move a weight that was never ours to move… and we get nowhere except tired and exhausted.
That exhaustion may show up:
Physically.
Mentally.
Emotionally.
Spiritually.
Just like in the gym, we build strength over time. We do the reps. We stay consistent. We gradually become strong enough to handle heavier weight.
But when we walk up and try to carry someone else’s weight—weight we were never prepared for—we can end up buried under a load that was never ours to carry.
My challenge to each of us this week is to understand that sometimes someone’s heavy load was meant for them to carry… not for us.
Yes, we want to help.
Yes, we want to take the weight off their shoulders.
But sometimes helping doesn’t mean carrying their weight. Sometimes helping means walking beside them while they carry what was meant for them.
Each of us will carry heavy loads in life.
But each load is unique to us.