Coffee Cup Sleeves

Interesting things....those paper coffee cup sleeves.  Do you know what I mean?  When you get a HOT beverage that comes in a Styrofoam or paper cup…often they will have a cardboard sleeve of some sort that keeps the heat of the cup from burning your hand.  It’s an extra band of protection that makes the cup easier for you to handle.  Reminds me of something that I’m sure we have all experienced but may have forgotten to be thankful for.  Let me explain it this way.  A few months ago…I had yet another run in with cancer.  This time it was in my left kidney.  Three years ago I had third stage lymphoma and tongue cancer.  Prior to that, I had thyroid cancer.  I’m telling you this to set the stage for what happened after I was diagnosed.  We told my mom and dad…who told their church.  We told our Pastor, who told our church.  We told our friends, who told their friends….and their friends told their churches.  We were on prayer lists around the country.  We started receiving letter, cards and calls from Christians all over who were praying….for us.  People bought gifts for our children.  We had offers of financial help to assist with medical bills and travel expenses.  We were amazed at the
outpouring of support.  Do you know what those people were all doing?  They were being our “sleeve” on the hot mess we were in the midst of.  Essentially, they were bearing…our… burdens.  They looked at our situation and said, “We can’t take the cup from you…but we can bear some of the burden for you, to make it a little easier”.   When you have a friend going through a difficulty of life and they call just needing to talk…you are helping bear the burden, buffering the pain and making the trial a little easier for them.  When the Lord puts it on your heart to help someone financially or with child care or with just a simple hug…you are being a sleeve and helping bear the burdens of life.  We have all been there, at one time or another…so here’s the challenge: Who’s burdens can you help bear?  Who can you be a buffer for? Let me let you in on a little secret…when you are being there for someone else, it will make your own burdens so much lighter, because you aren’t focused on yourself anymore.  In essence it is a two- fer…two great outcomes, for the price of one!