Invisible Burdens

Out hiking in the wildflowers of Alta yesterday, I watched my husband carry a 50-pound backpack/ruck sack up the mountain. To anyone passing by, it just looked like a regular pack—maybe filled with Diet Coke, a picnic blanket, and some cookies.

But it wasn’t. It was dead weight.

He looked like the slowest one on the trail, pausing more than the rest of us, lagging behind just a bit. And if you didn’t know what he was carrying, you might wonder what was wrong.

This is the metaphor I can’t stop thinking about.

So many vulnerable families and children we work with are carrying invisible burdens.

Poverty, trauma, addiction, hunger, instability.

There may be some reading this post carrying the weight: depression, anxiety, disappointment, heartache.

You don’t always see it.
But it weighs everything down.

Before we assume someone is “behind,” let’s remember they might be carrying a load we can’t see.

Let’s offer help, not judgment.
Compassion, not criticism.

Let’s be the ones who use our voices to speak for those who may not be able to.

🫶🏻