Am I bearing the burden?

The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship… And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner – no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses… in him also Christ vere latitat – the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden. - CS Lewis, "The Weight of Glory"

Every summer, the vast majority of my time, energy, and prayers are devoted to sixteen people. Most of these people were unknown to me prior to the summer, and there's never a guarantee as to what our relationships will look like after the summer. Nonetheless, this little flock quickly becomes "mine," and their success and growth in Christ become my top priorities. I am always on the lookout for ways to encourage and help, I seek the strength and patience that will enable me to lead them in a loving way - even when love does not come so easily, and their needs are the constant focus of my prayers. I strive to make Paul's words my own, that I would "most gladly spend and be spent for [their] soul[s]" (2 Corinthians 12:15).

I wish that I could honestly say the same were true of my efforts to love my family, my friends, and those I encounter on a regular basis. Do I look for ways to encourage and help? Do I pray for strength and patience that I might truly be long-suffering over the years, or do I simply distance myself when love becomes costly? Do I pray for these people who are so important to me, and do I make myself available for God to use me as an answer to those prayers? Can I honestly say that I will gladly spend and be spent for their souls, or have I become a relational tightwad?

I am not satisfied with my own answers to these questions.