Lost Luggage

I definitely did NOT feel blessed the last time Amber and I flew with United Airlines!

We were flying into Chicago to catch a connection to Baltimore, but our plane was late and they were already boarding when we arrived. As quick as we could, we RAN to the gate where we had to go, but if you've ever been to O'Hare International Airport, you realize how big that place is!

We finally got there JUST IN TIME for our plane's take-off...

We watched it out the window!

The next flight to Baltimore wouldn't be until the next day, but the nice lady at the counter said we could either wait for that or she could put us on a plane to Philadelphia in a couple hours, which actually worked out for us since our final destination was a couple hours' drive from either city. We asked about our bags, and she assured us they would be re-routed with us, so we breathed a huge sigh of relief! When we arrived in Philadelphia, however, our luggage was nowhere to be found: apparently, it had gone on to Baltimore without us! That still would've been fine, but then the airline tried to say it was OUR responsibility to drive to Baltimore to get it! It took quite a bit of arguing to finally convince them otherwise!

If an airline has ever lost your bags, I feel your pain. At least we finally got ours back in the end!

But sometimes, NOT getting your bags back...

...can be a GOOD thing!

Of course, we all hate to lose a suitcase when we travel, because it has things that are important to us (clothing, accessories, souvenirs, etc.) but often we carry around things we don't need.

I'm talking about the emotional and spiritual baggage that sometimes weighs us down.

• the baggage of self-doubts and insecurities...
• the baggage of reputations we can't shake, whether based on something we did or something totally beyond our control...
• the baggage of missed opportunities (things we wish we'd said/done) and regrets (things we wish we'd never said/done)...
• the baggage of abuse - physical, verbal, sexual...
• the great big bag of all the sins we've committed...

If those bags aren't heavy enough on their own, they have all kinds of extra pockets to stuff things in like fear, stigmas, anger, bitterness, selfish pride, pain, unforgiveness, guilt, shame... and before long, the weight of those bags can get to be unbearable!

But I'm thankful today that we don't have to carry that baggage anymore!

Just as God told the Israelites: 

You shall no more be termed 'Forsaken', 

and your land shall no more be termed 'Desolate'; 

but you shall be called 'My Delight Is in Her', 

and your land 'Married'; 

for the Lord delights in you... 

- Isaiah 62:4

...so Paul reminds us:

...if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: 

everything old has passed away; 

see, everything has become new!

- 2 Corinthians 5:17

In other words, in Christ, you get a new identity! You don't have to be the same person today who picked up all that heavy baggage yesterday. You can take every bit of that burden and lay it down at the cross, and he will gladly take it!

Jesus said:

Come to me, 

all you that are weary 

and are carrying heavy burdens, 

and I will give you rest.

- Matthew 11:28

What a blessing to know I have a Savior who's willing to claim me - baggage and all - and take away that heavy burden!

And YOU can be thankful 

to lose YOUR luggage, too, 

if you trust Jesus today!