More Weight Than They Can Bear
13 November 2004, 8 am | Story
In last night’s episode of Joan of Arcadia called “Friday Night”, her troubled friend Judith teaches Joan how to juggle. Near the end of the show after a very emotional scene, God asks Joan a metaphorical riddle:
God: Did you ever hear the riddle about the man, his boxes, and the bridge?
A man had three boxes. Each box weighed five pounds. The man weighed a hundred and ninety. The bridge could only support two hundred. How did the man make it across the bridge with all of his boxes?
Joan: He juggles! Yes, I get it. He keeps one box in the air the whole time. But…
God: The bridge is life. The boxes hold your feelings, your love, your joy, your pain, your loss. Everyone is crossing a bridge with more weight than they can bear. So, you juggle.
God then takes these three blue glow-balls from Joan and begins to juggle. After a moment, he tosses them, one by one, to Joan to juggle. And she does…
![[image: 'Smiling Jesus']](http://journal.cowpi.com/grafiks/sidebar/smiling-jesus2.jpg "'Smiling Jesus'")
![[Jerusalem Cross with Heart]](http://cowpi.com/journal/grafiks/jerusalem-cross-heart.gif "Jerusalem Cross with Heart")
Comments
What a wonderful analogy. My mom watches that show, but I don’t have cable or satellite. She would tape it for me, but I rarely have time to sit and watch a tape anyway LOL.
I’m guessing that the true meaning of the juggling analogy is that in order to bear our burdens, we must let some of them go to God to deal with while we focus on the others.
Btw, I’m a teacher, too. :) I teach 5th grade, all subjects. I have my share of burdens to bear LOL.
∼ πλ · 13 November 2004, 12 pm · by Federica ¬
I saw that episode, also, and enjoyed it; but, as I usually do, pondered the juggling lesson. Will probably post on it next time around…………
∼ πλ · 13 November 2004, 2 pm · by Jim ¬
I think the person from the first comment missed the analogy:
“I’m guessing that the true meaning of the juggling analogy is that in order to bear our burdens, we must let some of them go to God to deal with while we focus on the others.”
I don’t believe this interpretation to be correct. I think the correct interpratation is that everyone has a lot of crap in their life, and they “juggle” by shifting from one situation to another and focusing on that situation.
∼ πλ · 18 November 2004, 5 pm · by El ¬
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