10 Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting. Ecclesiastes 11:10
Sometimes I don’t notice what I’m carrying. Some things have been with me so long, I hardly see them anymore. I get irritated when nothing is wrong. Old memories stick around, things that happened weeks ago. I don’t always call these burdens. Sometimes they just feel like me. This is just how I am, I think.
Then I read, remove sorrow from your heart. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that. Some things you can’t just drop. Sometimes I hold on because I never got an explanation or apology. Or maybe I want to understand what happened. Sometimes I’m afraid letting go means it didn’t matter or that I’m saying it was all fine. But maybe there are things I keep feeding that don’t need more of my energy.
The Teacher ties this to how quickly youth passes. There is good right here, but it’s easy to miss. I wonder what I’m letting push out that goodness.
A conversation ends, and I’m still replaying it hours later. It changes nothing, but I still give it room in my mind. Meanwhile, someone I care about is right there or something good is happening and I don’t see it. I miss things because I’m somewhere else in my head.
I can’t always choose what sticks with me. Still, I keep asking if I’ve given something too much of my life. Maybe I keep letting it happen inside me.
Father, help me see the burdens I’ve gotten used to carrying. Give me wisdom to know what really needs my attention and what I can let go. Help me notice when going back to a trouble no longer helps. Make space in my heart to enjoy the good You’ve given me.
