{my graphics are free goodies for you}
My parents still tell the story of how I, at six years old, marched right up to the airline counter and demanded the plane arrive soon because I was ready to go see my grandparents. I have no recollection of this audacity, only the memory of my hand wrapped around the handle of a small red suitcase. I don’t remember the contents, whether I packed dolls or tennis shoes, books or candy bars. But I must have traveled light because I carried it on the plane all by myself.
I think we, as children, start out this way. We don’t have much to weigh us down. Then the years go by and there’s life and hurt and responsibilities. Before we know it we no longer have a little red suitcase. We have the kind as wide as the side of a bus that gets a “heavy” sticker slapped on it.
Does it really have to be this way?
This is what I sat down with my friends Jennifer Watson and Suzie Eller to discuss in our latest More Than Small Talk Video. We said that we serve a Savior who tells us, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30). Then we asked each other, “How can we begin to set down what weighs us down? We talked through the three steps below as a starting place…
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It seems the first step is the courage to let go. We have a good reason for everything we’ve placed in our suitcase. We want to keep it safe. Or we think it proves our worth. We think we just can’t live without it. It takes guts to pause and ask, “What’s one thing I need to move forward without? When I answer this question it usually takes grit and tears and counseling. This is all bravery.
Then we can look at what’s left and decide what’s not only appealing but essential. Perhaps we don’t need the ten pairs of sandals, although they’re all just so cute. We can review our crowded calendars, our long to-do lists, our honorable intentions. We can ask God, “What’s not just good but Your very best?” We can hold onto that and know we’re free to set aside the rest.
Finally, it’s also important to know where we’re going in this season of life. Alaska requires different attire than Hawaii. Raising toddlers takes different resources than transitioning into retirement. We can evaluate, “What might be wonderful for another destination but not for where I’m going right now in my life?” It’s okay for some things not to be in our suitcase. It’s just not their turn right now.
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That day in the airport I eventually boarded the plane and sat in a row of fellow six year-olds {remember when children traveled alone like this?}. We were served a beverage of choice. My seatmates chose ginger ale, which I scandalously believed to contain alcohol. I virtuously chose Sprite.
The plane touched down and there, right at the end of the jetway {remember when you could greet planes right at the gate?}, were my grandparents. They reached out first for a hug. Then my Grandpa, so strong and good, took the suitcase from my hands.
This is our story too. “Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you” {1 Peter 5:7}. This is the ultimate truth and life-changer: When life gets heavy, we can hand off our suitcase.
My Grandpa knew I would need my hands free for what was to come–eating salty waffle fries from my favorite restaurant, picking up shiny quarters from the bottom of the deep end of the pool, holding a flashlight so I could read under the covers at night.
Children seem to understand the less you carry the easier it is to grab on to joy.
I’m learning this all over again too.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
P.S. You can watch the entire Permission to Travel Light video below {blog subscribers, click here to view the blog post with the video}.
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From August 16th through October we’re doing a special link-up series to celebrate Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely {launching October 3rd!} You’re a fiercehearted woman so I’m asking you to pour out a little love and courage with your words every Wednesday {the link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post, especially if it’s about living fully and loving bravely, and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
Pretty please use this button in your blog post so others can easily join in with us {the html code is in the right sidebar of my main blog page}. And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth!
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