Too Heavy

On one occasion, I remember being re-introduced to my first grand-daughter with the words, “Hi.  Have you met the Question Factory?”

We still believe she may be a lawyer in her upcoming years.  Perhaps she’s mellowed a bit – I’m not certain.  Perhaps it’s only that an introspective analysis of her world allows her to ask only tough questions.  Her parents would know.

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Corrie ten Book’s father was a German watchmaker.  From all over the country, people brought their timepieces to him as he was revered for being an accomplished repairman.

Once a week, he made the trek to Amsterdam for a variety of purposes, one being to check the most accurate timepiece of the era at the Naval Observatory. 


On this day, according to the recollections of Corrie in her book, The Hiding Place, she accompanied her father.


She proposed a ‘tough question.’ The query was not centered on the horrific world in which they lived and alternatively, was not something inconsequential.  It was just a normal tough question regarding a sexual term she had heard in school.

Parents might tend to brush this off with the words, “You’re not old enough yet.”  That postponement would have to do as further inquiry is discouraged.

After hearing Corrie's question, her dad placed his enormous travel-case on the floor as the train slowed for disembarking.

“Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?” he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. “It’s too heavy,” I said. “Yes,” he said. “And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.” And I was satisfied. More than satisfied—wonderfully at peace. There were answers to this and all my hard questions—for now I was content to leave them in my father’s keeping.

We might find that our prayers, our petitions, and pleas seem to frequently go unanswered.

Reflecting on this story, could we accept the premise that our Father is protecting us?  Could we be ‘more than satisfied and wonderfully at peace’ knowing that the answers to some of these prayers might just be too heavy for us to carry?

Perhaps we can see a blessing in the knowledge that as we proffer our petitions, He turns His head with a slight but noticeable smile and in a whisper says, “Trust me to carry this for you.”