How often do we look at things in our past and allow those things to carry to much weight in how we live our lives today? At my job and also at church we have references this as carrying baggage. So often when I travel I always over stuff my suitcase which makes it a lot harder to move around. I believe in life in a lot of ways we do this in life. In my suitcase I carry growing up without my father in my day to day life, growing up in a community with a lot racism, feelings of not being good enough. Along the way I have tried to drop those bags off on my own, maybe leave them in airport. Unfortunately for me my return address always gets found.
More and more I realize those pieces of baggage can only be removed never to return by giving them up to God. Easier said than done for sure. Sometimes I feel we, and definitely speaking for myself, carry things because we don't know how to not allow those things to define us. Being redefined has it's own pains but they are so worth it.
Jesus died so he be what defines us and nothing else. When I am focused on that fact the backage I carry gets so much lighter. I can use those things from my past as a testimony, but nothing more than that, as God intended.
Now I look at growing up with out my dad and I think I pray God allows me to be a father one day and I get to be a part of that child's life everyday and teach a son how to growup to be a man or teach a daughter how a woman should be treated. Praise God for that opportunity. I get the chance to sit down with a young black man and tell him he can decide to use racism as a reason to act out or he can strive to overcome that and go off to college and go back home and show he community that is possible and circumstance don't have to define you. Praise God for that. I get to focus on my relationship with God who shows me more and more my worth to him. Praise God for that.
The only things I want in my suitcase is what God puts in them. 1 Corinthians 10:13. I know he will not put anything in that I can't carry. I choose to pick up that suitcase or shall I call it that cross Matthew 16:24-28. I strive to lose everything good or bad that defines me beyond the cross he gave me to bear. Jesus laid down his life so not only I but everyone has that opportunity. Praise God for that.
