I was getting ready for the snow that was predicted by the forecasters to come in to the South Bend area on yesterday. Anywhere from 4 to 8 inches, then 2 to 4, then a coating to 2 inches, Ultimately we received NOTHING. A line/curtain almost like a buffer protected South Bend where we received nothing but just 8 exits down from my home, in Elkhart, they received 10 inches. Amazing! I will talk about that later.
As I was getting ready for the snow THAT NEVER CAME, I reviewed my property. New Gloves for my son, new boots, pulled out the Dickie's, bought the rock salt for home and reviewed where the church stood on its supply. The Shovels, and I remembered.
Last year, during the first week of January we received a massive snow total of about 36 to 38 inches of snow that fell within a 24 hour period. The grace of God allowed it to come in waves so we dug out from the first 18 inches and made room for the next 18. The men of Macedonia on Saturday night came to the church to clean out the parking lot. armed with shovels, snow plows, bobcats and snow blowers, we started digging.
As I worked with the men, I encountered a reality I will never forget. WET SNOW IS HEAVY! 38 INCHES OF WET SNOW IS UNBEARABLE. IT WILL BREAK YOU.
I had the ability to lift the snow, that would be my own strength. I had the capacity to hold the snow, that would be the utensil I was using to hold it, but I did not have the power to bear the load of the snow, therefore, the shovel folded under the pressure or weight of the snow.
The Before and After shot I provided gives us today a great object lesson to view our own lives. many of us are trying to "LIFT OUR OWN SNOW"! We have discovered it is wet, it is heavy. We are naive so we ignore that this same "SNOW" has ripped down power lines, this same SNOW has destroyed branches and trees that have stood for years. So we lift it!
We use whatever device we have to lift it. The shovel, if you will, is how we pick it up. We use the shovel of "Family obligation", it's my job to do it, we use the "Work obligation", It has to be done so its my job to do it. We find whatever reason we have to in order to lift it. AND WE DO, WE LIFT IT.
Then it happens, We snap. We break, We fold, We give into the weight, the pressure, the amount, WE CAN"T TAKE IT ANYMORE! We had the strength to lift it and the capacity to hold it but we didn't possess the power to bear it, so WE LOST IT! Has this ever happened to you?
The day where you had enough, the day where you snapped, lost it, folded in. People thought you were crazy because they had no idea how much you were trying to bear. Sick of family, sick of church responsibilities, sick of bills, sick of the phone and then just one more ounce of snow on your shovel and you folded, bent in two, caved and crashed in.
For some of us we went off, Told people off, gave them a piece of our mind, said words we shouldn't have said, for others you turned your phone off, unplugged from the viral worlds of facebook and Twitter to jump in a bed not wanting to return, while others found clothes, food, alcohol, sinful relationships to handle their inability to carry the weight.
It is sad really. If I would have read the instructions on this shovel I would have known in advance what its load capacity was. Load capacity is a specified amount of weight per square foot that is allowed to be placed on a given building level or platform.
There are just some things God never meant for you to carry because IT IS TOO HEAVY FOR YOU. It will break you, it will fold you, it will make you cave in, it isn't within the guideline of you load capacity. Therefore God tells us this:
Psalms 55:22 (NIV) Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
I Peter 5:7 (BBE) Putting all your troubles on him, for he takes care of you
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