Last week was my daughter’s last concert of the school year. She’s a rock star drummer, at least in my eyes and as much as a budding 7th grade girl can be. In our town, we have a beautiful outdoor amphitheater where even famous musicians come to play in the summer. However, on this night, it was filled with middle school students staring into the setting sun as their young director tried madly to keep the wind from blowing the sheet music away in the evening breezes.
Unfortunately, my husband had to work, so it was me and the boys headed to the concert. As most parents know, kids come with gear, lots of it. Being a mom should come with the same job description as the sherpas hauling people up to the top of Mount Everest. The description should state, even after you no longer need to carry a diaper bag, the items you need to carry for your children will only get heavier as your kids get older.
Along with our camping chairs for the outdoor concert, each of my kiddos not in the concert insisting on bringing entertainment along because unassigned seating in an outdoor concert can get a little cutthroat with parents jostling for the best spot to record the evening events with their phones. We had to be prepared to stake our claim of land for at least 40 minutes before the start of the seven minute concert. (And who said the great land grab in the western United States was over?)
My youngest insisted on bringing his toy rhinoceros. It has no moving parts, no noise making capabilities and my heart was filled with joy as we would not be the ones receiving dirty looks from other parents for disrupting the concert with the electronic call of a plastic animal. 
Even with all these positives, I asked my youngest if he thought he would keep track of his rhino. With a positive affirmation on his part, we began hauling all the camping chairs, bags, books, and toys for entertainment from the back of the car to the concert venue.
Upon arriving at our staked out piece of real estate, the entertainment items so carefully chosen were soon forgotten as my kids spotted friends, the concession stand and their sister warming up to the side of the stage. They then proceeded to run down and tackle her in their excitement.
Instead of having a yard sale of items around our camping chairs, I picked everything up and stuck it in my bag to allow for other parents to crowd in around us before the start of the concert. When our daughter’s seven minutes of fame were up, we repacked our gear, now with her additional hand to get it back to the car, we headed for home. It was at this minute of trying to wrestle kids into car seats and seatbelts, my youngest, yelled, “Wait, I forgot my rhino! We need to go back for my rhino!” “Don’t worry, I’ve got your rhino,” I replied. “I need to see it. I need to make sure you really have it, Mom,” came the response from the back of the car. I opened my bag to show him, I indeed did have his rhino in my purse, aka, sherpa bag.
God’s Word states, “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” Psalm 55:22, NLT. God will pick up our burdens, even when we forget about them or try to take care of them ourselves. I’m still learning to trust God even though He has shown me over and over again that I can.
Just like my son asking for proof that I had his rhino, many times I ask the same of God. Sometimes I get an answer to prayer the same day, other burdens I’m still waiting for God to handle even though I’ve been praying for years. But, I know if I can gladly carry a rhino in my purse, God can carry my burdens too. Are there burdens you need to let God carry?
Love this story! Great title, too!!