The Dock 2
One morning I was walking along a beach, it was early so there aren’t very many people here. I see the beautiful sunrise glistening off of the water. Life seem to be going good, things were looking up and I was happy, the only bad thing was locked away in the back of my mind never to get out, or so I thought. As I am walking along I start to see people arriving, little by little. At first it didn’t seem so bad but it started to get worse by the minute. Soon it was so crowded that it was impossible to sit down. I found myself walking through a massive crowd of people, I was being shoved and stepped on. I start to panic and push harder to get away from this mess but I felt like I was just getting deeper into it. All of a sudden I find myself feeling so alone, there is literally thousands of people around me but no one notices me. Then some one does notice me. He seems to be a friendly guy, he’s cheerful, funny, and shows some concern. So I talk with him, telling him of what I am going through and how it is becoming hard for me and I would like someone to help. This man smiles and looks at me and says “Thanks for sharing. Let me know how it goes”. Then he walked away. I felt a little better after talking with him but then I realized I was still stuck in this mess and nothing had changed. So I start pushing through the crowd again, frustrated and lonely. I run into a young lady and she asks me if she could be of any help. I figured it couldn’t hurt to share with her, so I started to share. She then turns to one of her friends and starts talking as I try to explain what is happening. I stood there for a minute then gave up on her and started walking away. I looked back wondering if she noticed my disappearance, but she still stood there talking. Even more frustrated than before, I continue to try to make my way through this massive crowd. I run into a couple of guys carrying what seems like luggage, they seemed pretty relaxed and kind. They walked besides me and listened to everything I said. Then they started to tell me, dramatically, what is wrong in their life. It seemed like they were trying to see who was going through the worst problems. All of a sudden I am carrying both of their bags and they are heading the opposite way laughing. I try to drop the bags but I can’t let go of them. At this point I am angry and I start pushing carelessly through the crowd. I notice people here and there putting things in the bags and I can’t do anything to stop them. Soon the bags are so heavy I can barely keep them off the ground but even though I try I cannot set the bags down, not even for a second. I realize I am on a rather large dock and it is still crowded. I figured if I can get to the edge of this dock I can try to throw the bags into the ocean. So I struggle forward dragging my feet, people are still adding to my load, and now there are people watching and looking very amused by my struggle. They start telling others to keep adding more burden onto me to see just how far I can go. Soon I have people screaming at me to give up and that there is no hope for me. There are also people who are whispering into my ear telling me I am an idiot for even trying, why do I even try to take another step? Am I really going to get somewhere? What are you hoping to accomplish? Next thing I know, my mind is filled with doubt, I want to run away but I can’t. I finally make it to the edge of the dock and try to get rid of the massive burden I carry, but I can’t, it will not go away. It’s weight is starting to crush me, people are still adding more and laughing. I am sitting on the cold concrete, leaning against the rails gasping for air. But the weight is too much, it is becoming a fight to even breathe. All of a sudden I am sitting on the floating dock again. There is no people anywhere near me. I no longer see the hundreds of mocking faces. But I still fight to breathe, the heavy bags are still on me and I can’t get rid of them. I notice my feet are in the water and my shoes are next to me. I look closer at my shoes and see they are torn, bloody, and pretty much useless now. I sit there gasping, only thankful for the cold water on my feet and the the air that makes it into my lungs. I do not notice anything else, even though there is life all around me, I show no interest in it. Just when I think all is hopeless and I have taken my last breath, the baggage disappears! There is no more weight on me, though I am sore from all of the weight that I carried. I can breathe a whole lot better now. I then hear his voice again and it said “That was a pretty heavy load you were carrying”. I looked up and saw Jesus standing next to me. “Where did it go? All of the baggage?” I asked. “I am now carrying it” Jesus said “I hate to say this, but you have forgotten everything. You shouldn’t have had to carry all of these burdens for so long! If you had just given them to me as soon as you got them you wouldn’t be in this mess. You, yourself, have taught others to give their burdens to me and not listen to the world, yet you are deaf to your own words.” These words I was hearing hurt, I didn’t find them comforting at all. Jesus then says “The feeling you are feeling now, the pain, is how I feel every time someone says they cannot trust in me nor my Father. It pains me to see every one trying to carry such an impossible load by themselves cause they can’t trust that I can make it lighter. I want to help, but they must take that first step and surrender their burdens to me. I can only watch till then.” ” I am so sorry!” I cried “I didn’t mean to cause you such pain” Jesus looks at me and says “I forgave you before you even did this. There is nothing to forgive right now. But I need you to remember, everyday, that you are blessed and loved more than you can ever imagine and there is nothing that you can do to change that.” We sit there for a little while resting our feet in silence. After several minutes Jesus stood up and said “It is time for you to go. Please remember what I said, especially when things get rough”. Then he disappeared. I reach for my useless shoes to put them on and I find a brand new pair of shoes in their place, smiling, I put them on and headed back to the mess of this world.
