Griffin's Bag

Griffin is going through a stage; he pulls a suitcase everywhere he goes. It’s a pretty little pink suitcase that belongs to his sister Molly and doesn’t have anything in it; consequently it’s pretty hard to understand why it is so important for him to carry it. The suitcase is really a burden to him and others—to drag it, to remember it and lug it in and out of the car and house.

I feel certain that this is just a passing fancy for a two year old, but there are many adults who do something similar with their baggage from the past. They pick up their bag everyday, afraid to leave it behind. I’m not so sure why they do it, except that it has become a habit and habits are hard to break.

The bag might be filled with the hurtful words other people have spoken to them that they just can’t seem to get over. Or it could be filled with the memories of painful events that haunt their memory. And it may be filled with losses of people, relationships or even innocence. You name it and it can be in someone’s baggage.

It doesn’t really matter what’s in the bag; it’s still a burden. What useless bags are you carrying around? What do you need to do in order to get rid of your baggage? Will you take the steps to do it?

Only when you leave the bags behind will you really begin to experience the freedom that God has planned for you.

Hebrews 12:1-2a Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

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