Burden Breaker

When I am bent and broken
And my back is burdened under a load I cannot carry
You come to me
You walk beside me as I walk the road of treacherous thorns
You cry with me as I stumble
As my feet become broken, bruised and sore
Gently You touch my shoulder
Your eyes alive with tears
You take in the twisted, crippled form that is my back
You know I cannot stand up and meet your eyes
My burden has cast me low
I am unwittingly, yet rightfully bowed low
Your love for me in my bent and broken state is the burden which You carry
And the weight of it upon Your shoulder has cast you down to my level
I can meet Your eyes as You stumble,
Tripping as You walk beside me on this path
You speak with me as we walk
You listen to me as we talk
You cry with me as I share the pain of the burden I am shouldering
And You beg me to let You take my burdens
But I grasp onto them all the tighter
How can I let go of something that I have been carrying for so long?
You have your own burden to carry I protest
My burden would be too much for you to carry
You grunt under the pressure of Your load and I cast my eyes away
“My love”
You say
“I am a strong man,
Do you not see my hands?
They are weathered, capable and strong
I am a carpenter by trade
A man of strength and aggression
I have harvested mighty cedars since my youth
Cut them down in the fullness of their glory
With my hands tightly gripped around the handle of my axe.
Do you not see my feet?
I have traveled many miles upon the scorched desert sand
The skin of my feet does not tear easily
They are callused and strong.
And do you not recognize the tenderness of my heart?
Do you not realize that you are the burden I carry?
Do you not know that I cry when you cry?
I hurt when you hurt?
And do you not know that my love for you
Causes me to bow low and meet your eyes?
Love, I am the burden breaker
I am the back onto which burdens come to die
In me you can find freedom
And in me will find love
If you desire to relieve my burden child,
Then stand upright and give me yours.”