Do you see this innocent looking, yet enormous bag? It is big, bulky and weighs more than a bag full of toddlers. Everyday, I pick up this gigantic bag ( the picture really doesn’t do it justice), carry it to my car, load it up, drive to my office, take the bag out, work with it, load it back up, take it home, unload it from my car, & repeat daily. It just flat wears me out and gets on my nerves, but I know that I need every single item in it- NEED IT!!! Today, I decided to sit at my table and unload that albatross of a bag. I found a 32 ounce full water bottle, 3 sets of headphones, magazines I have never read, 3 marriage books, 4 cd’s, my lap top, and more file folders than I care to count, plus a bunch of coupons and trash. Goodness gracious. What a mess and how unnecessary. It’s flat out disgusting that I have lugged this bag DAILY, full of stuff that I had fully convinced myself was necessary. As I was unloading it, I felt the spirit of God speak to me, ” This is how you live your life. You are convinced that you NEED things that are unnecessary. It’s time to let some things go.”

Wow. I let that stop me and soak into my heart. So many of us put on what the world, our past mistakes, people, places, and experiences have told us we are. We put on that identity & our hurts … it’s baggage, that is just unnecessary. Everyday we pick it up, take it with us everywhere we go, and can’t imagine what life would be like if we were, well, completely free. What if we were free from all the junk that weighs us down and wears us out. God reminded me of what Matthew 11: 28-30 teaches us,  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Just like that bag I have carried with needless junk that I never took the time to unload, examine, and clean out, I am asking God to search me & cleanse me of things I don’t need to carry anymore. I want Him to help me shed the unneeded baggage that I carry that is not part of the light yoke He promised me. I have realized my bag and my closets are not the only things that need a good cleaning. How about you? Let’s ask the Lord to help us to let go of what we need to release and live the free, joy-filled & peaceful lives He has called us to.

(By the way, my enormous bag is about half the weight it was. It’s a miracle!!! 🙂 )                                      Courtnay Aycock