May 19: Carrying Each Other's Burdens

At some point, you’ll be the one listening while someone else tells the truth.

Paul writes to a church that wasn’t always kind to people who stumbled. He says: if someone is caught in a fault, you who are spiritual should restore them in a spirit of gentleness. Watch yourself, so you aren’t tempted too. Then: bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

There’s a lot in those two verses. Restore, not condemn. Gentleness, not harshness. Humility, because you could fall too. And carrying weight together, which is how Christ’s law of love gets lived out.

That’s what a good Fifth Step listener does. They don’t lecture. They don’t gasp. They help carry the weight for a while, so you can stand up straighter.

It’s worth thinking about this from the other side, because recovery doesn’t stay one-way for long. Someone did this for you, or will. One day, someone will call you at midnight. Someone at a meeting will ask you to be their sponsor. Someone will sit across from you with their inventory, shaking.

When that day comes, remember what helped you. Listening more than talking. Not being shocked. Sharing a little of your own story so they don’t feel alone. Pointing them to God’s grace. Keeping what they say private.

You don’t need to wait until you have years of sobriety to bear someone’s burden. Even now, you can be kind to a newcomer. You can return a call. You can sit next to someone who looks scared at a meeting. Small acts of carrying.

And when you’re the one being carried, let it happen. It’s not weakness. It’s how the body of Christ is supposed to work.

Bearing a burden also means keeping it. Whatever someone trusts you with stays with you. That kind of faithfulness is rare, and it’s one of the best gifts one person in recovery can give another.

One thing today

Reach out to someone newer in recovery than you, or someone you know is struggling. A text, a call, a word after a meeting. Ask how they’re really doing, and listen.

A prayer

Lord, thank You for the people who have carried my burdens. Make me someone who restores others gently. Help me listen well, keep confidences, and point people to You. Amen.

This month’s step: Step Five.

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