July 6, 2025 

 So much baggage 

Why do we keep so much stuff? Possessions, habits, negative thoughts. . . why do we allow excess baggage to weigh us down? 

As my new husband and I begin our new married life together we are also preparing to transition from a 1200 sq foot home to a 635 sq foot cabin. We’ve had to severely downsize. Furniture, memorabilia, even habits and negative thoughts. 

Ok, so mostly it’s just me paring down the negative thoughts. I admit, I’m a Negative Nellie, a true Debbie Downer. My best friend kindly labels me as a Realist, not a pessimist. What a sweetie! But I blame it on my previous life experiences. I’ve experienced quite a few unhappy chapters in my life. 

I believe that if you’re really happy where you are, look out! Something bad is bound to happen, and soon. Or at least that’s what I used to believe. 

Have you ever met someone that no matter what has happened to them in the past, they still exude positivity? Consistently? All of the time? Even when life gives them lemons, they continue to make the sweetest lemonade? 

Well, I know someone like this. From the moment I met him, I could feel he was different. An odd duck, so to speak. I was confused, bewildered at how easy-going and confident he was about EVERYTHING. It was a little unnerving. Until he explained it to me. And then I felt really bad, about myself. 

You see, his attitude was all about his faith. In God. In trusting God. In believing that everything will be alright, in the end. 

Isn’t this what I had been taught, growing up in a Christian home? I suppose, but. . . look at all the bad things that had happened to me in my life, I countered. God allowed me to go through them; He allowed me to suffer through those events. So when something good came along, of course I thought, oh, boy, it’s going to get crappy again real soon. 

But I was looking at it through the wrong lens. Yes, I suffered through these events. But God rescued me from each one of them. He was with me the whole time, I just wasn’t aware of it. He was molding me. He was preparing me. He was guiding me, always rescuing me. And when I got to the point where I asked Him to truly lead me, He did. And when I continue to ask Him for direction, He leads me even further, closer to His side. Where I belong. Where I feel loved, cherished, protected. 

Proverbs 3:5: "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." 

Isaiah 44:2-3: “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." 

To say I feel like a new person after learning this, is an understatement. It is an amazing feeling, trusting God with everything. Don’t get me wrong, I still have days where I forget this lesson. But I have a friend that reminds me that “God’s got this.” And I hand over my worries yet again. For a while. But those times are becoming less frequent. For this, I am so thankful. 

So what baggage are you lugging around? Can you give it to the One who wants to carry it for you? He’s waiting for you to let go of it. Trust Him.