Baggage Claim
If you have ever flown on a plane and checked your bag at the airport you are familiar with the baggage claim. When we get off of the plane we hope our bags and suitcases have made it to our destination.
Have you ever tried to get your bags and panicked because they weren’t there? Maybe it was just taking a long time and finally you see them on the big conveyer belt. Relief settles in as you grab your bags and head out.
As we are all familiar with baggage, how about OUR baggage? I mean the stuff that we carry everyday. Some of it is so heavy we need help, some of it is lighter, but we get tired of carrying it. Have you seen those funny tote bags that say “Emotional Baggage” on them? Then it says, “just kidding like I could fit it all in here.” Kinda funny, but true!
So what are we supposed to do with this stuff? When we pack to travel we put specific things in our bags that we know we will need for where we are going. Then when we return home, it all gets put away in its place. What if we look at our emotional baggage that way? What if each thing had a place and we kept it put away until we needed it like other items we have?
As I think about this, I know that the Lord allows certain things in our lives for certain reasons. Do we always know the reasons? No, we don’t. But sometimes I believe we do. We see those glimpses and opportunities to maybe help someone else with what we have been through and something in our heart just knows that there is purpose in our pain.
Do we ever look for those opportunities though? Maybe sometimes? But how often do we want to hide from them because the pain might be a bit too much more than we were wanting to endure.
As we know, the Bible is full of people’s stories. It is full of the good, the bad and the ugly, right? How many of those stories have we read and been blessed by? Think of Joseph and his troubles. Think of Job. David. Daniel. I could go on and on. What if your life were in the Bible for all to read? What if the trauma and pain of your life was on display for all to see? Would people see that you ended up leaving God and the faith because of the hurt? Would people see that you quit? Would they see how much you loved God anyway and pursued a life of service to Him? Would they see others that you have pointed to Christ because of your pain?
We all have a choice. We get to decide HOW we handle the things that come our way. Is it easy? NO! I don’t think it ever is. Is it worth it? YES! The times that I have been able to relate to someone who knows I understand their pain, is priceless. That in itself brings a lot of healing. The times when others have encouraged and understood what I am going through is priceless too.
So, let’s look at this baggage we all carry. What can we do with it? Instead of ignoring it or running from it, let’s ask the Lord to help us to use it for His glory. I tend to be a pretty organized person. I love having things in their place and I love having clear and clean surfaces in my home.
I imagine boxes… each one is a different color with a label on the front. These “boxes” in your life can be real or just imaginary or drawn on a piece of paper. You do whatever works for you!
The first box might say, “childhood trauma”, the second, “hurts from school”, the third for me might say, “miscarriage”… those are just some examples.
As we take the time to separate the things that come to our mind it may be difficult. As we “organize” these hurts and traumas in our lives it will help to have them in their place when the time comes. You see, we cannot carry around a suitcase full of stuff from our vacation everywhere we go. Can you just imagine that for a moment? I’m headed out the door to the grocery store, gotta load up my heavy suitcase, get back home, unload it and bring it in the house. Time to go out to dinner, load the suitcase. Get back home, unload the suitcase. Time to go to work, load the suitcase… you get the idea. How tired I feel just typing all of that lol. Obviously we would not carry vacation luggage everywhere we go. I do not believe we are to carry our “emotional luggage” either.
Let’s set aside the things that weigh us down, (Hebrews 12:1), and put them in their place. For example, I suffered a miscarriage back in 2007. It was one of the worst times of my life. God brought several people into my life shortly after it happened that I was able to encourage and help through their pain. As many years have passed, God has brought more people into my life that I have been able to encourage through the same heartache. It is heavy, it is one of those things that I do not believe a mother ever “gets over”, but there is healing. I could carry that weight around every day, possibly grow bitter over it, get mad at God, etc. but instead I am choosing to put it in its place. In its imaginary box of hurts. As I lay it there in that box, I pray that if God needs me to help someone through it, I will. As we deal with those things it brings the pain back up when we remember, but if we can help others to find hope and encouragement in the Lord it is worth it.
Will you join me in claiming the baggage of our lives and organizing them into their proper places? Go ahead, get out some paper and start listing out those hurts and traumas. Get real boxes if you need to, label them, use codes if you don’t want anyone to know, but take that step. Maybe organize it in a digital format if that helps. Many times that first step to healing is accepting the things that have happened in our lives. Giving them over to the Lord for His glory and moving on with life.
Be encouraged, there is hope. God never wastes any of our pain. There is purpose and someone out there needs you. Be available and willing to be used by God to bring hope to others. Claim that baggage and set it aside. You will not regret it.
