Quiet Moments With God -- Baggage

We just made another move. I'll save you the details, except to say it included my husband and I, and our two daughter's and their families. It was a lot of work. 

We've done this a number of times and you'd think we'd have the process down pat. And we do, pretty much. But one thing I've noticed each time is that after working ourselves silly to make sure our new place feels like home there is always something that doesn't find a place to live. 

Right now I have a bench seat that's sitting in front of the back door. I don't know where it belongs yet, but will soon. And this morning I noticed a microwave oven sitting on the wood stove hearth. It either needs to be donated, trashed or stored. No one in the family needs it right now, so there it sits.

When I walked by that microwave my first thought was why is that still hanging around? Everything else looks great--in it's proper place, and the house looks homey and tidy . . . all except for that microwave.

I remember when we first moved that microwave really bugged me. It needed a home. However, over the past week I've grown accustomed to it and barely notice it sitting there on the hearth. Isn't that a lot like our spiritual lives? We leave "stuff" out or carry it around . . . needlessly. And pretty soon we barely notice it, even though some of the "stuff" really hinders our spiritual walk.

I figure most of us can pretty quickly think of something we're carrying around in our spiritual house. And it's likely something we either refuse to deal with or that we've grown accustomed to and barely see.   

What is some of the baggage we refuse to discard? 

• Wounds we've been unable to forgive and release-bitterness is the result. 
• Unfulfilled expectations-are you disappointed or angry? 
• Unanswered prayers--God always answers, but sometimes He says wait or no. 
• What about personal guilt-I've got plenty of that, how about you?
• Unresolved sin-The Lord waits to hear from us. He's done it all, but we need to ask for forgiveness.

We have various types of baggage, but all of it damages our relationship with The Father. If we truly want to discard the baggage we need to look at it and see it for what it is. Only then can we let it go. Don't try this on your own. We don't have the power in ourselves to succeed at dumping spiritual baggage. But the Lord does and He will give us the wisdom and strength to do it. 

Dumping baggage is usually a journey and it doesn't happen over night. God will show us the way--seek Him and be patient. Have confidence in the Lord for He is the one who will carry us on the journey toward whole and healthy hearts. 

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie