Their new coach—a fit, confident young man—stood before his new class: a group of mothers eager to shed the extra weight that often comes with pregnancy and the demands of raising children.
“Ladies,” he began with a smile, “you all want to be able to look in the mirror one day and be excited about what you see. It’s my job to help you get there—and the good news is, I know how to do that.” Then he paused. “But if there’s one thing that will make this journey more difficult, it’s this…”
He bent down and picked up a small, lightweight dumbbell.
“Does anyone want to guess how much this weighs?” he asked.
A few voices called out guesses ranging from one to five pounds.
“Five pounds,” he said. “And you’ll all agree—that’s very manageable. But the weight itself isn’t the real issue. What matters is how long you hold it.”
With that, he extended his arm straight out in front of him and said nothing. He simply stood there, holding the dumbbell, making eye contact with the women around the room. After a full minute of silence, he finally spoke.
“The weight of this dumbbell hasn’t changed,” he said, “but it’s already getting heavier. I can hold it out here for a minute without much trouble. But if I had to hold it for an hour, it would feel much heavier. And the longer I held it, the heavier it would become.”
Then he connected the lesson.
“That’s exactly what happens to the cares, anxieties, and burdens you carry every day.”
“Mothers,” he continued gently, “you already carry a tremendous load—responsibilities, schedules, decisions, worries for your children. The demands can feel endless. But when you add worrying about things you cannot change, you overload yourself in an unhealthy way.”
He shook his head slightly. “God did not design you to carry all of that. What may seem like small, manageable burdens become heavier and heavier the longer you hold onto them. They distract you. They drain you. And they interrupt the success of the goals you’re working toward.”
“You can’t afford to keep carrying them.”
Then, with a softer tone and a reassuring smile, he added, “And you weren’t meant to.”
“The Lord tells us plainly that carrying the weight of these burdens is His job.”
Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
“And to make the point even clearer,” he said, “God says it again.”
1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”
“So ladies,” he concluded, “each morning—before you jump into your day—pause. Lay your cares at the feet of the Lord, knowing that He truly cares for you. Thank Him for taking what you were never meant to carry. And then, just before you lay your head on your pillow at night, do it again.”
“When you do that,” he smiled, “you’ll be free to focus on the goals we’re working toward—without distraction. Do this, and I’ll get you smiling at that mirror in no time at all.”
He paused, looked around the room, and said, “Shall we begin?”
Philippians 4:6 (TLB) “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers.”
