As I walked through the woods carrying my log, which
symbolized my burdens, I became hot. The sun’s warm rays sneaked between
colored leaves and spotlighted the forest floor. I began to peal back the layers: jacket, sweatshirt, and fleece
vest. I carried them in one hand along with my Nalgene water bottle and held
the log in the other hand. As I made my way through the thick of the unpathed
woods my jackets would catch on branches and slow me down or hold me back. Soon
it was clear that their weight or hindrance was greater than the log with my burdens
written on it. I sat next to the lake and listened for God’s voice, setting the
log on my lap and the pile of stuff next to me. As the sun glittered the
peaceful surface of the water before me and reflected on the fluttering sherbet
colored leaves overhead, I felt God saying, “Chuck the log in the lake! You have
enough good, godly things that are weighing you down and holding you back; why
on earth are you still carrying that junk around? Chuck it in the lake, leave
it behind, it doesn’t deserve your worry.” So I prayed over each problem on my
log, lifted it over my shoulder and launched it into the water with a silence-breaking
splash. I thanked God and walked away.
