Written by Johanna Zabala, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Ecuador 
The beautiful biblical passage in Galatians 6:2 encourages me to continue fulfilling the Christian mission of bearing the burdens of my sisters in Christ, my family, and others with whom I have relationships. Based in the love of Christ, this scripture is an exhortation of obedience, bonding, communication, and fellowship with each other.
When I say "burdens," I mean the various difficulties and adversities that as human beings and followers of Christ we will encounter in each stage of life, both physical and spiritual.
Over time, we may realize that some burdens began in our childhood. This affirms the great importance of a healthy childhood, starting as early as conception. Early childhood is the foundation of our adult lives. All along the way, we are soul, body, and heart, made with love and an existential purpose.
When thinking of ourselves as a soul, we have a spirit of life that we do not see, which makes it challenging for us to care for and understand. We dedicate a little more care to the physical or external body. However, we take only minimal care of our internal organs. We also have feelings, which flow from the human heart. The word of God says that they are deceitful, as Proverbs 4:23 tells us. We must keep our hearts pure in accordance with Matthew 5:8.
These three areas of life need to be attended to and cared for equally to achieve the first of the greatest commandment of the Lord Jesus. Faced with this need, structuring soul, body, and heart to achieve their complete harmony will present certain challenges or difficulties toward the harmony between the three. Therefore, it will take experience, acceptance, strength, and above all, a lot of wisdom and love to overcome this challenge.
Overcoming the difficulties to achieve this harmony requires walking together through each experience, obstacle, and blessing. We can turn this process into an opportunity, rather than a burden, to understand the reason for the way we interact with our peers. In interpersonal relationships, we can choose to understand, see, and recognize in others our own weaknesses and strengths, which will allow us to be better people.
Furthermore, Matthew 11:28-30 teaches that we can all go into Jesus’ presence. In Him, we learn and rest. We are invited to bear the yoke of Christ and to learn of His meekness and humble heart. The purpose is to find rest for our souls through full dependence on the Lord. Jesus helps me to observe my surroundings daily and share important challenges and sufferings with my physical and spiritual family. These are clusters of constant personal and spiritual growth.
By working with, getting involved with, and getting to know each member of the Church, we reflect the great need we have to help, build up, and love one another, as Jesus Christ Himself taught.
The Lord Jesus calls us to salvation but also invites us to heal the soul. Heal! From what? It may be from an unsuccessful way of living taught by our earthly parents, from which are called to be purified and transformed, as we read in 1 Peter 1:18.
As someone once said, “We see faces; we do not know hearts.” The prophet Isaiah, in chapter 1 and verse 5, emphasizes that "Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted" (NIV). This reminds us that, despite having been born again in the waters of baptism for a new life, there may still be situations that have occurred but not yet been consciously healed.
I know adults with significant wounds from their childhood who still show significant gaps in their relationships. One study states that approximately 89% of people with voids in their relationships were abandoned by a parent. Therefore, within the home and the church it is urgent to help understand the importance of forgiving our earthly parents for:
1. Being completely absent
2. Being very harsh in parenting
3. Not exercising authority or not being there, especially in the early stages of childhood
4. Being unloving
5. Not paying attention
6. Demonstrating immaturity
Sadly, those who suffer emptiness in interpersonal relationships agree that the wounds they feel result from not having grown up with a strong family nucleus. This results in difficulties raising their own children and even more so, an inability to assert themselves in communication with parents, spouses, colleagues, friends, and even with our Heavenly Father.
In conclusion, as daughters, let us wholeheartedly forgive the inexperience and the hurts caused by parents or caregivers as soon as possible in order to be healed. And, if we have children, let’s not hurt them. A commitment like this requires constant prayer and wisdom in the love of Christ. Let’s help each other in sharing and forgiving.