Lay Down Your Burdens

If you are like me you have really enjoyed having your coach home for the summer.  Football is now in full swing in my house as it across the state of Texas. I know it’s football season but not for the reasons you would suspect.  Yes, he’s gone from dawn to dusk. Yes he comes home smelling like sweat and football. Yes there are remnants of field turf tracked across my otherwise clean floors but there’s more.

I know it’s football season because I’m receiving emails and texts messages and watching the thread on Facebook feed fill with prayer requests, struggles and concerns.  I’m watching my friends and fellow coach’s wives all of the sudden having to start dealing with things by themselves that they would normally team up with their coach on to handle. These things could be small or they could be big. On the first day of two a days at our house the garage door all of the sudden quick working. There I stood thinking “ok – how do I get this fixed before my coach hits the door. I don’t want to face him with a problem when he’s hot and tired.” Thankfully my coach’s best friend happens to be a basketball coach who’s not in season and was able to come to my rescue. Small thing. A couple of weeks ago we came home to find a good portion of the shower wall tile in the floor. Contractors have determined that I’s not an easy fix and that major construction is needed. Of course it took until now for the contractors to complete their bids and financing to get settled.  Football starts and so does major construction that comes with lots of decisions. Decisions I would normally turn to my coach and ask his thoughts.  Now his thoughts are concentrated on football and I’m home making it happen.  Big thing.

Just this week I know of wives that are dealing with parents who have been diagnosed with cancer and another whose parents have Alzheimer’s. I know a wife whose daughter who is going through a divorce and dealing with depression. Another wife whose coach who has cancer.  Another whose son who has cancer. Another wife who is closing on their house and moving the first week of school. All big things.

Each and every day there is a wife of a coach dealing with so many big and little things. We are all trying to balance these with our daily lives and trying to take care of our husbands and families during the season. For you it may be football season or basketball or baseball or all of the above. But, we don’t have to go through it alone. We have each other. Wives all of the U.S. understand what it is to be the wife of a coach. They get that our husbands are building into you men and young women while we are home dealing with a hundred different issues. They get that coaching is a ministry and it’s up to our families to show Jesus to a lot of these kids. They understand that while it’s time away from our family it’s time spent increasing our heavenly families. These wives are there for each other and they are there for you and me. Each time a request or concern is emailed to me or comes across my Facebook feed I stop and pray for that amazing woman and what she’s going through. I know other wives do the same thing for me.

I know we have each other but I also know we also have the Lord. In church a few weeks ago a member of our preaching team was talking about handling all that life seems to through at us.  He sang on old hymn that puts it all into perspective.

CHORUS
Lay down your burden I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child
Lay down your burden I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child

Cause I can walk on water ..
Calm a restless sea
I've done a thousand things you've never done
And I'm really watching
While you struggle on your way
Call on my name, Ill come

Lay down your burden I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child
Lay down your burden I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child

I give vision to the blind

I can raise the dead
I've seen the darker side of hell
And I've returned
I've seen those sleepless night
And Count every tear you cry
Some lessons hurt to learn

Lay down your burden I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child
Lay down your burden I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child

So now that football is in full swing I know things are going to come up that I’m going to have to deal with whether I want to or not. I also know that I can lay down that burden and that my Lord will carry me and he will carry my burden.  Lay down your burden. Jesus has you.

Cheering you on,
Laurel