Everyone Gets A CarryOn

Baggage is so labor some. Yesterday I caught a ferry in Anacortes, Washington to make the trip to Orcas Island. My daughter is working on the island and I was surprising her for her birthday.

Nothing about the ferry system is made for baggage. All of the on-ramps had mental flanks sticking up and very narrow stairwells with little flights of stairs going in many directions. As usual, I had my large teal green suitcase on wheels.

As I was pulling my suitcase through the narrow stairwells, it was such a drag and I felt like I was bumping into everyone. Finally, a ferry worker came up and pointed at an elevator for people with large baggage. My ocean travels quickly became about my baggage. I was not like the other travelers who were flying up and down the stairwells and bouncing around the ferry. Once I found a seat I could not leave my baggage. Too big, too much stuff, and how would I survive without it?

So there I sat, me and my baggage. I think for most of us our life baggage is very similar to my experience on the ferry. Flat out limiting. As I sat in bondage to my teal baggage I could smell the salt in the air and I was reminded of how Jesus walked into my life to take my baggage away. His greatest desire is for us to move freely up and down the stairwells of life. The bondage that our baggage brings is heavy, draining, and it sets us apart from others. If you bump someone enough times with your baggage you will be on the receiving end of a very dirty look.

One of my best moments with Jesus was when He taught me that everyone can have one bag. Perfection is a myth and the only perfect is Jesus, so, yes…you will probably travel with a bag through this life. In this world where everything is broken—the weather is broken, relationships are broken, our bodies are broken, our culture is broken—we will not escape this place without some baggage, but He can downsize our baggage to just a single bag. The big and bulky stuff, He can handle. 1 Peter 2:24 tells us that, "He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin (baggage) and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed."

Bottom-line: If Jesus can carry your sins He can carry your baggage. Find a great coach or counselor and unpack your baggage. Make this your season and do it. Then let Jesus pack your one bag and He will pack it with everything you need!

Tool: Unpack your baggage before someone else is exhausted by it. Keep track and be aware of your conversations; if you are talking about the baggage you are still bonded to it.