Day 45

Good Friday, April 18th

Before continuing, return to Day 6 and re-read “The Invitation”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

“It’s him!” He calls over his shoulder to the cat, sunning itself in the middle of the clearing. “I would know that gait anywhere. It’s him!” The man throws his hands into the air and laughs into the sky. “I’ll be right back,” and he starts down the narrow trail toward his friend who is still a long way off. The man breaks into a run.

“You’ve come,” the man gasps, catching his breath. He wraps his arms, strong from chopping wood, around his friend in a hug so complete the young man’s eyes sting with tears. Letting go, the man takes his friend by the shoulders and tries to look into his eyes. But the young man keeps his eyes on the ground, at the dust from the path on his scuffed boots, and mutters hurried apologies. Ignoring them, the man slides the straps of the young man’s pack off his shoulders. “Let me take this for you. You've had a long journey”. The heavy pack hits the ground with a thud, stirring up a cloud of dust. “What do you have in here?” the man laughs. “Been picking up boulders along the way?” The pack seems light though, as the man heaves it onto his own back. 

“You don’t have to carry that,” the young man says, rolling his aching shoulders. “It’s mine, after all,” he adds quietly. 

The man straightens his back like a soldier coming to attention. “I was made for this,’ he says with a wink. Despite himself, the young man smiles and finally meets the man’s eyes. He’d been afraid of what he might find in them, but the only thing he sees there is Love, as deep as the world. 

Tilting his head and squinting at his friend, the man says, “Did you forget you don’t have to carry this alone?” Not waiting for a reply, he puts his arm around his friend’s shoulders and as they walk toward the cabin, they talk of the smell of woodsmoke, of bread and honey, and of a soft chair pulled into the warmth of the fire.