The Burden of Gratitude

Once upon a time there was a woman who got in a serious crash.  She was in the hospital for a long time and then in painful physical therapy.  Her fiancee was a gem to  her the whole time.  He was by her side, helping her live and function, cheering her on when she was pushing herself a little farther each day.  Everyone thought it was super sweet.

Finally she was mostly back to normal.

She broke off the engagement.

The burden of gratitude was too much for her.

You will understand the  mortal experience much better when you realize that even joy and gratitude and happiness can be a burden when they overtax one of our small souls, which they always do.

My burden is easy and my yoke is light, the Savior said, and I think he was talking about joy and gratitude.  A light burden, yes, but still a burden.

And that’s only when the burden is to Him.  It is an ennobling experience to manage to be extremely grateful to a fellow mortal creature.  Ennobling because it is hard.

Be patient with people when you do favors for them.