I sat down, cup of coffee in hand, and gazed at the words in my bible. 

The Parable of the Tenants.

I stopped and realized,

I am just a tenant.

How many times have I read that parable? Never before did the word tenant jump off the pages like it did this morning. The truth that God’s word is living and active proves itself once again.

I continue to read but the wrestling match in my cranium makes it difficult to focus. As much as I want to sponge up truth my brain is already shifting into the duties of the day.

My mind drifts to a list of items yet to be acquired for Darling Number One. An upcoming departure means there’s packing to do.

I’m grateful the burden isn’t mine alone because———

I am just a tenant.

Beloved husband is busy as ever. I’ve neglected him the past few days. I wonder, “God, how can I make him feel special today?”

I’m relieved the burden isn’t mine alone because———

I am just a tenant.

Two more Darlings are off at different colleges. I think about what their week will be like. How are classes going? What friendships are forming? I am excited for them but my enthusiasm is tempered with concern and I whisper, “Lord, is there something I should do to reach out to them?”

I’m comforted knowing the burden isn’t mine alone because———

I am just a tenant.

Another school shooting occurs. The United States is forty-five days into 2018 and already there have been eighteen school shootings. The scenario is becoming epidemic. Lives are lost. Families are broken. What is the answer? My heart is a mix of grief and turmoil.

And yet, there’s a sense of peace knowing the burden isn’t mine alone because———

I am just a tenant.

I learn through Voice of the Martyrs that Christian brothers and sisters are making a choice…the choice. The choice I’ve wondered, “Would I do it, Lord? Would I choose You over life?

These and other global atrocities result in particles of a cloud, heavy with evil, that has drifted halfway around the world and landed smack-dab where I sit this morning. Such things can make the strongest woman weak in knees.

I am strengthened knowing the burden isn’t mine alone because———

I am just a tenant.

Anxiety can grab hold of us for a million and one reasons. Sometimes it’s the small, repetitive worries that chip away, other times, it’s greater, more serious issues that rightfully cause us to stop and ask “Is the sky falling?”

That’s when we have to remember that the God who created the sky created us. And just as He hung the stars in exactly the right spot He’s placed us in our spot, our own tiny space in the cosmos.  It’s here He’s given us each a role to play BUT we have to remember,,,

We're not responsible for the big picture.

Tenants aren’t meant to carry that kind of burden, that’s the landowner’s job.  

This doesn’t mean we get a hall pass and are supposed to cloister ourselves in a corner.  It’s possible He’s calling us to go…to reach…to stretch ourselves farther than we’ve ever imagined. But we need to remember, the backdrop to the whole story is that He’s in control.  

If the weight of your world (or the world) seems too heavy to bear I hope you’ll join me in remembering this single most important truth:

The burdens of this world aren’t meant for us to carry alone. The landowner has it covered.

Savoring the journey with you,

Cindy