Unchecked Baggage

“The things you want are always possible; it is just that the way to get them is not always apparent. The only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life is you, and that can be a considerable obstacle because you carry the baggage of insecurities and past experience.” 

- Les Brown

Many times I'll ready myself to sit and write, already knowing exactly what it is I'll be discussing, just to find that God has other plans. Last minute, God will say to me, "no, that is not what I want you to write about. Someone out there needs to hear this instead. Write about it." Sometimes His word to me isn't so clear. It is often more like a gentle tugging in my chest that lets me know I'm about to change my mind because I've been touched and lead in another direction with no choice but to follow and see where it leads. I find that when I listen to these callings and feelings that the results are far more positive than if I had chosen to ignore them. Today I felt such a desire to write about becoming sidetracked...and then... I was sidetracked. I was sidetracked by God telling me what it was he really wanted me to write about: unchecked baggage.


Check this out and then continue reading: http://skitguys.com/videos/item/baggage-skit/

We all have baggage that we carry around with us every where we go like luggage we haven't checked onto the plane and, sadly, we just seem to keep adding more and more to the already heavy and unbearable load. What is this baggage that we carry? Unfortunately, It can be anything. Grudges, hate, bitterness, envy, and sadness are all examples of the burdens we carry. I personally struggle with quite a few of those for a variety of reasons. I hold anger in my heart for people in my past who have wronged me and hurt me and my loved ones. I carry bitterness over situations that didn't go my way. I have sadness over plans that didn't quite work out. I hold envy for those who I consider to be the "haves" while I (albeit unrealistically) consider myself a "have not."  I struggle with carrying these unchecked bags every single day and it is wearing me down. 

One of the most personal examples I can share about the baggage I hold is the baggage of anger, resentment and bitterness. I have a figure in my past who tried to come between me and my then fiancée, Robert. I had just finished college and Robert was still there. I was working in Huntsville and he was in Chattanooga. This person, whom I will not name, tried everything she could to wreck our engagement. I don't know what her motives were, other than her claims to love Robert more than I could, and it doesn't really matter. I was so scarred and insecure, being separated from Robert, that I didn't handle things well at all. I said and did things that, to this day, I regret. However, despite the regret (which I also carry with me) I have extreme bitterness and resentment for her. I resent her trying to ruin our relationship. I am bitter that I have to have these unwanted memories of those events. I am angry that it even happened in the first place. These unchecked bags are extremely heavy in my heart. There are others, for sure, that I also struggle with daily. 

So...why don't I check them and get on with my life? There's an old hymn called, "Leave It There." In case you've never heard it, here are the lyrics to the chorus: 

"Leave it there, leave it there, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there."

How easy is that? To take our burdens and baggage to the Lord and just leave it there? He wants us to; He says so in Matthew 11:28: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." How much relief and comfort would I receive if I could just give up my anger, bitterness, and resentment to God? I guess the question here is not how to find relief from these burdens because we know how. The question is, if it's as easy as simply giving them to God...why don't we? What holds us back? I think that also has many answers. For me personally, I sometimes believe that if I don't judge them and "punish" them, then no one will. I feel that everyone needs to know what that person did and that they need to receive some sort of public humiliation in order for me to feel better. It's funny how that never works out. Here it is almost three years since that girl tried to ruin my relationship with Robert and I'm still thinking about it. She probably has no idea I even still care. She probably has no idea that I'm even still bitter and angry. The truth of the matter is that I'm probably the only one still suffering and it's self inflicted!!!


In Romans 12:19 God says this, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." It's so hard for us to remember that God knows everything. He sees everything and nothing happens that He didn't already know was going to happen. Why can't we just give it to Him and let Him avenge us? He is the creator of the world...I think He can handle the feelings stored in my heart that are unhealthy to say the least. I just need to let it go. I just need to leave it at the altar. I just need to realize that the picture is so much bigger than my understanding and that, thankfully, I have a God who is also bigger than my understanding who can take care of it all...and who wants to take care of it all. If nothing else, knowing that God, our loving Abba Father, wants to check those heavy bags for us and be the pilot in our lives should be comforting. I hope you'll join me in striving to just sit back and enjoy the flight. We are free to roam about as carefree as we choose...let's do it. Let's give these heavy "suitcases" to God and simply forgive and forget the things we carry.

Picture: By Kevin Slater, Germany Airport 2006

Here's to letting Him fly the plane...