The Weight I Don’t Have to Carry

 The smell of paint filled the air as I stood beside my dad, holding the hose steady so it wouldn’t touch the car. My job was simple: stay alert, be careful, and support him while he worked. It had been about a month since he last painted, and I could see the tension in him. His movements were more cautious than usual, and there was a quiet nervousness in the way he handled the paint gun.

He was worried.

I wasn’t.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the situation. I knew things could go wrong. The paint could drip, the finish could come out uneven, or something unexpected could happen. I was fully aware of the risks. But none of that made me anxious. If something went wrong, he would be the one to fix it. He was the one responsible for the final result. My role was simply to assist.

And that’s when it hit me.

Recently, my family has been going through a difficult situation. We lost a significant amount of money. I say “lost” because we don’t have it right now, but I still believe that God will help us through this process. Of course, I understand what could happen. I’m not ignoring reality. I know the possibilities, the risks, and the uncertainty.

But I’m not consumed by worry.

Standing there beside my dad, I realized something: the way I trusted him in that moment is the same way I’m learning to trust God now. About the situation I felt the same feeling  and I felt at peace.

I was aware of what could go wrong, but I wasn’t carrying the responsibility. He was.

Sometimes, we think that trusting God means pretending everything is fine or refusing to see the difficulties in front of us. But that’s not real trust. Trust doesn’t mean blindness—it means surrender. It means acknowledging the situation, understanding the risks, and still choosing not to carry a burden that doesn’t belong to you.

Just like that day, I am present. I am doing my part. I am aware. But I am not in control—and I don’t have to be.

That responsibility belongs to God.

Just as I stood beside my dad, helping him while he handled the outcome, I’m learning to do the same in my life. I will show up. I will do what I can. But I won’t carry what was never mine to control.

That is a weight I don’t have to carry.