LIFTING BURDENS

I admit I poke fun at my mom when she cries in church. Mind you, I never mean anything by it. I guess I’m just much more of an introvert than she is. I don’t like to demonstrate emotions in public.

But the closing ceremony for our TEAMeffort Youth Mission Trip 2006 (to help migrant families in Florida) brought me to tears. It wasn’t the video they showed, although it was incredible to see how much we accomplished. Nor was it the music. Rather, it was a simple, silent skit with no words that the counselors performed. It depicted a boy who constantly took on the burdens of others in the form of chains around his neck. No one would take his burdens, however, and before too long he was severely hindered by the weight on his shoulders.

Finally, another man showed us how to take the burdens from around his neck. The first boy refused help initially. It wasn’t until he collapses beneath the weight that he allowed the man to take them. The man did, helping the boy to his feet simultaneously, and then he approached the cross and hanged himself on it, revealing himself as Jesus.

The entire skit was no more than five minutes long, but the impact it had on the room was incredible. I was not the only one wiping my eyes and sniffling.

Before the service, we had been given chains of our own. Immediately following the skit, we were welcomed to place our burdens on the cross. There was no verbal invitation, but the way that the stage was set, the invitation was clear.

I am very proud to say that, out of everybody, our youth director, Rob Ulmer, was the first to approach the spotlighted cross and lay down his chain. He literally opened the floodgates. Once Rob had gone, people poured forward to place their chains as well.

The effect that the service had was evident long afterward. People left the chapel in nearly complete silence. The entire walk back to the college was solemn and subdued – a tough feat to accomplish with a crowd of teenagers. Even now I feel this resonate within myself when I think of Jesus easily handling all of our worries, hopes and dreams.

Part of me wants to think that it cannot be that easy. Part of me wants to think that it shouldn’t be that easy, and part of me wants it to be that way.

But easy or not, I can say with a confidence I never had before that there is a God to help us when we stumble, to catch us when we fall and to love us when we believe we are forsaken. And I challenge you to never forget that.

— Vanessa Oakes, age 18

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist