Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ
It’s really a challenge for me to pack light! I’m typically a serious packer when I need to travel. I like to “dress up” for dinner so that means a few dressy options. There is need for casual clothes; several shoes for various activities during the day; can’t leave behind the strappy shoes for night; then I may need beach attire necessities, and the list goes on. Maybe I’m a tad more of a hoarder than I care to admit, nonetheless, I like to plan and organize my luggage cases as much as possible. A lady never knows what important item she might need – some ladies can relate that my cosmetics tote carries both chocolate brown and black onyx eyeliner – ok, maybe plum and a smoke-gray, but that’s all I’ll confess to. My rule = one color simply won’t do. Many ladies understand that we need a brown shoe and at least two different black shoes. It’s just the law, right?! Oh, okay, it’s not a legal decree, but maybe it should be. <smile> And maybe these examples into my “packing skills” will help the men to better understand why your wife might NEED 3 bags compared to your one bag.
For the first time in twenty-odd years of contented marriage, I packed the right amount of clothing and accessories for our most recent vacation! I asserted the powers of a super hero to narrow my luggage wardrobe down to 2 cases. I was ecstatic, although, one weighed more than the allotted 50 lbs by the airline. We didn’t grumble when we had to pay added fees during the pre-boarding process. I knew it had to weigh at least 48 lbs before my “last minute” items were squeezed in. Still, my baggage was contained within 2 cases, and I was happy with this milestone.
That is, until I saw my sweet husband carrying the bags through the customs line. He’s a gentleman, and automatically took “charge” of carrying the bags. I had seen him maneuver our baggage in other airports, other terminals, and other locations, but for this trip, at this particular time, I felt worse than normal. No complaining. No whining about everything I felt a need to carry out of the country. No begrudging. The more sweet and caring he was – the more my conscious began to sting a little. He declined my repeated offers to help (I told you he is a kind man!) Life Moment: Your spouse will usually notice the various acts of love and compassion that you extend – other people in your life will too. Feeling well loved and cared for is a tremendous blessing. It will be the Christian’s response to return that love without hesitation. If you struggle being generous with your spouse and family members, there is a problem. Ask God to help you.
So, it was during a layover at the airport that I began to make notes about different things I saw…We can learn a lot from people watching.
# 1) We ALL have baggage. Small baggage, gigantic baggage, neatly packaged baggage, wildly arrayed baggage, casual baggage, even formal baggage. We must remind ourselves, that many people hide their baggage with a smile. Or under a false pretense. It’s good to offer encouragement to someone, because you never know what invisible baggage they’re carrying! Life Moment – It’s best not to judge the baggage for what it looks like. It may be tattered or torn, but inside it could be kryptonite. Also, a brief but sincere comment about how good God is might just be the perk that someone needs.
#2) Nobody pushes their baggage – everyone carries it. We CARRY baggage in our lives don’t we? Things that Christ Jesus’ blood has already atoned for, but WE can’t let it go. Baggage that is already forgiven and forgotten – but our minds hold us prisoner to guilt or bitterness. Life Moment: We need to stop carrying unnecessary baggage with us everywhere we go! We don’t require “carry on” luggage either!
#3) Baggage is often heavy and cumbersome! It is often overloaded. I couldn’t physically man-handle the baggage I chose recently. I needed help. Fortunately, my husband was there for me. Yet, I felt bad for some people – wheels were falling off, bags were bumping into walls, some baggage was dropped only to be picked up several more times, some were struggling to even lift their baggage, all kinds of entanglements ensued. Remember friend, Jesus is there for us, to bear our heavy loads! There is no burden or problem too big for Him. The Christian MUST remember this when the adversary tries to tangle us up, and hold us back. Life Moment: Baggage gets heavier the longer we carry it.
#4) Letting go of baggage takes faith! At the airport, we feel a moment of anxiety when we walk away from our baggage, trusting we’ll see it again at our final destination. This can be applied to our lives when we pray over a situation or a burden, and don’t step back and let God do His will. Let go of the baggage! Trust in Him. Lay it down. Stop worrying so much. Have faith that your heavenly Father knows all about you, and loves you immeasurably. Endlessly. Perhaps you recall the truism, “He’s big enough to control the universe, but small enough to know my name.” That’s Him! Our baggage is lighter when we let HIM carry it for us!
Note to self: “He’s bigger than any mountain that we can or cannot see!”
Look UP my friends!
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