My Source of Strength

While at Walmart yesterday, I picked up a bag of food for my dog. The 20-lb bag was $12.96; the 48-lb bag was $15.96. The choice of which bag to get would have been easy had Jason been with me. However, as I stood there staring at the 48-lb bag, I truly contemplated going with the smaller size. Why? Because 48 pounds is heavy!

My thrifty side refused to settle for the smaller bag, so I gathered my strength and lifted the 48-lb bag off the shelf. That, in itself, was a comical sight, but I wish you could have seen me trying to get that huge bag in the bottom of the buggy. I was down on my knees, pushing from one side and pulling from the other. After much struggle, I had the bag arranged to where it would stay in the cart. The exertion left me weary and ready for a nap. Just as I began pushing my buggy, I noticed that unlike the 20-lb bag, this bag didn't have a pull-off sticker (you know, the kind where you just pull the sticker off and hand it to the cashier). "Too bad!" I declared. "She'll have to figure out a way to scan it herself 'cause I'm not picking it up again."

I continued my shopping. The cashier was able to use a wand to scan the dog food. I pushed the buggy out to my truck, unloaded my groceries, and then stared at the gigantic bag, willing it to hop into the truck on its own. No such luck. With much embarrassment, I finally un-wedged the bag from the shopping cart and dropped it (literally) into the bed of the truck. As I drove home, I deliberated whether or not I could count my shopping trip as my daily exercise.

Yes, my shopping trip yesterday required a great deal of strength. Life is the same way; however, the source of strength should not lie within ourselves. In the grocery store, I had no choice but to pick up the bag myself. In life, I always have a choice. Unfortunately, I usually choose poorly. Instead of trusting in the strength of the Almighty to get me through, I act in my own strength and then fail to understand why things don't work out right.

Weary in well doing? I sometimes think I live in that state, but the truth is that I wouldn't be nearly so weary if I would allow God to lift the heavy loads instead of trying to bear them myself. God is my strength. How many more 48-lb bags do I need to lift before I get that through my head (or better yet, through my heart).