Optimist Roundtable

By Marth Sykes

A little ten year old boy come up to his mom one day and said he wanted to have a family meeting.He said, “I am running away from home”. So his parents started asking him questions and he just said ,”Nothing big happens here and if I don’t go now I won’t have any stories to tell”. Well, he stuffed as many things as he could in his backpack, kissed his mom and dad goodbye and headed out the door. His mom watched him walk down by the lake near their house and he sat down by a tree.His mom thought she would take the dog for a walk and just see where he would go. All of a sudden, he got up and came back home.That night, once he said his prayers and was tucked in bed, his mom asked him if he enjoyed his adventure.He said, “I did, Mom, but I think I’d have enjoyed it more if my bag wasn’t so heavy”.

I thought about that little boy, and I found myself wondering about how much baggage do I ,or anyone I know, drag with us throughout our days? It’s a fair question. Lately, there have been many things happening that cause us to realize that life is too short at times and if we spend our days dragging excess baggage with us, it can make us miserable.

If any of you have traveled on commercial aircraft, you realize the cost of carrying baggage with you. Most airlines charge extra for excess baggage and weight. Like that excess baggage, we can pay extra in life by carrying emotional baggage we don’t need.And no amount of hiding or ignoring it is going to make it go away. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. Jesus invites the tired and the worn out to come to Him. He wants us to quit carrying around the hurts, the anger, the grudges, or the negative baggage that slows us down in life and eventually impacts our perspective, and steals our joy in life.

There are a lot of families who have strained relationships because of the excess baggage they carry around every day and then days turn into years and it causes much sadness in life. We all know people who go through these difficult situations and wish we could help them to give their troubles to the Lord. In Psalm34:4, it tells us, “I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me. He freed me from my fears”. And we could add to that, He freed me from my heavy load.That’s an amazing trade. We get to drop our baggage, and Christ gives us rest.I don’t know what baggage others are dragging around every day with them, but I want people to know that no one has to carry it even for a minute. Jesus is waiting in the quiet, with arms open wide to receive us and our baggage. If there are days when you want to run away, just remember that your baggage is going to be pretty heavy to carry around, so say this prayer instead and come back home: Dear Lord,I thank you for taking my baggage that I have been carrying around. I choose now, by faith, to lay it down and have peace in my heart, In Jesus’s name, AMEN!