Does this suitcase look familiar when you are preparing to go on a trip? You know, putting two many outfits, pairs of shoes, that extra belt, a warmer jacket, and on and on into your bag. I struggle with knowing how much to pack, but you never know what mood you will be in each day of the trip, right? We have to be prepared for anything. I have even been known to pack an empty bag at the bottom of my suitcase so I can bring souvenirs and other purchases back home. Now, please tell me I am not the only one that does that!
There are many tricks to packing efficiently; rolling each item, putting them in shrink bags, laying the long items in the bottom, placing the tops on them, and then folding the long items over the tops neatly. What are your packing tricks? Maybe you just throw items in and hope they make it. Yikes!
When I think about packing and unpacking suitcases, it makes me think about all the baggage we drag through our life. We arrive on this earth with an empty bag and then with each year, we may pack little items like a putdown, discouragement, loss of something, unwanted life changes, etc. It’s those big, bulky items that can quickly fill our bag to overflowing, right? Divorce, death of a loved one, abuse of any kind, catastrophic events, great fear, incarceration, abortions, etc. It just piles up and piles up until our lives look like the overstuffed suitcase above.
All the trauma we have lived then begins to come out and affects everyone in our lives, by our words, actions, addictions, etc. How do we get our “bag” in order again, so there is less chaos and more healing in our lives? How do we find wholeness, more strength and joy?
I could give you a lot of verses from the Bible that could answer that question, however, I also believe it takes hard work, exploring those things that have filled our “bag”, see the power they have had on our life, and then take one step at a time of unpacking them.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He care for you.” I Peter 5:7
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and You will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matt. 11:28-30
Do you see how Jesus said that if we “unpack our baggage” and give it to Him, He will heal us from the inside out? One item at a time. Take it out of your bag, look it in the face, lay it at His feet and walk away from it. Does that sound too good to be true or too hard to work through? Well, I have a resource for you!
On Tuesday, April 19, on Chained No More Talk Radio, I will be interviewed by one of the CNM leaders, Lynda Hodge, about what Chained No More is all about. We will discuss how this life-changing book has impacted many lives around the country and how you can use it in your life. This may be the “first day of the rest of your life”; free from all the baggage you have been carrying around. Listen LIVE at www.toginet.com at 2pm ET. You can also download the podcast later that day at www.toginet.com/shows/chainednomore. Please join this Chained No More movement around the world. God is in the business of healing lives, but we need to put our feet to it and “do the work to make it work.”
Now, get unpacking! You have got a more joyful future trip to prepare for!