The west coast was overcast, grey, and chilly until well after noon everyday. I remember counting down the minutes until 1pm Pacific time, when there was a chance that the sun would peek through the hazy sky. One of those afternoons, we enjoyed some sunny moments at the beach.
There was a man running a beach side rental stand. He was dragging kayaks across the hot sand, bringing them from the water, and returning them to their place in the rental stand. It was his job. He wasn't asking for help, he wasn't even showing signs that he needed help; from all appearances, he was strong and able. As the man picked up the front of the last kayak, and began to drag it, I watched as my dad walked up behind the man, and lifted the back of the kayak without saying a word. The two strangers carried the kayak in silence for about 500 feet.
When they got to the destination, the man turned his head and said- "Hey brother, I appreciate you. It was rough, dragging that heavy kayak, and I wondered why it got lighter all of a sudden."
Hey brother, I appreciate you.
I wondered why it got lighter.
That moment became a permanent piece of my memory and of my heart-it changed my lens from anxiety to hope .
Are we looking for opportunities to make someone else's load lighter?
We've had a tough week in America. Our black friends face continued oppression and violence-both individually and systemically. Our police friends face violence in misplaced retaliation from a few, amidst a peaceful call for justice from many.
If we feel the need to take "sides"-can't we each take one side of the load? Can't we pick up an end, and walk in solidarity toward the destination?
"Hey brother, I appreciate you. I wondered why it got lighter."
Life is heavy if we are all dragging our own loads across the hot sand. Some of us think that we are strong enough, and that we can do it on our own. Some of us are seeing life through the lens of anxiety, worry, and paralyzing fear. Some of us are being told to be thankful for what we have, and our fears are being dismissed. Life is heavy.
As we wait for the haze to clear, as we long for the sun to shine, as we trudge through the sand, what if we picked up a part of someone else's load? What if we didn't post memes, what if we didn't move to polarity, what if we didn't walk on by the issues? What if we silently walked alongside our brothers, picked up a part of their load, and walked together?
My Pennsylvania dad is as different from a West Coast Surfing Vendor as you can get. But maybe not really. That late afternoon, in the California sunshine, I saw two brothers sharing a burden. A heavy load became a lighter load. Strangers became allies.
I pray for that in real life.
