Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Bag Ladies

Ephesians 1: 7-12

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ."

Go into any metropolitan area and you will see them. The world is filled with people who have fallen to the bottom of life's ladder and live on the streets. They used to call them bums. Hobos. Vagrants. Nowadays the euphemism is Homeless, but truth be told, many of them actually do have homes. Cart Pushers. Bag Ladies.

I've seen some pretty ambitious ones, to tell the truth. Most of them manage to carry a few possessions with them wherever they go. But some take it to the next level. Some of them load up on grocery bags filled with things they have found along the way. Others go whole hog and steal shopping carts, then stack them high with the things they hoard. Their progress is slow and laborious. Over the years, the weight of their personal problems, combined with the weight of the stuff they carry takes a toll on their health. They drag their bodies along skid row, not really looking for anything in particular. They just survive day to day, dragging their stuff from place to place.

Of course, some are drug addicts. Others are alcoholics. Some are mentally unfit but lack anyone to care for them... or they ran away from those who did. But there they go now, trudging along through life.

Not everyone makes it to skid row, but I submit to you that there are more of us who are bag ladies than we realize. I once knew a man named Bob Merkle, and Bob made the observation that in a way, we are all bag ladies, trudging through life carrying the weight of memories, issues, and hurts we have picked up during our lives.

Imagine it: At one time you were born into a world of promise. Some lived care-free lives for a long while. Others encountered trouble right out the gate, with abusive parents. But eventually, everyone experiences their first slight. It might be major, it could be minor. But you let it shape how you viewed life. Congratulations. you just put your first thing in your bag.

Over the years, other things happen. You lose a loved one. You get your heart broken. Your dog dies. You get in an accident. You are diagnosed with something incurable. Each time, you pick up a perspective, and drop it in your bag. "Never again," you tell yourself... but then you continue to carry it with you.

Years pass. Your bags fill up. Some things in those bags are pretty big. Some things are just little tidbits. But you still allow them to slow you down. You become jaded. Less open. You used to dream about possibilities. Now that some of those dreams failed to come true, you've sworn off dreaming new ideas. "Why bother," you tell yourself.

And then one day, you look back, and see you haven't really traveled very far at all. You've allowed the old things you drag around keep you from doing the things others seem to be doing so easily. "Why?" you ask yourself. "Why did all this stuff happen to me?" You're a bag-lady, burdened with the weight of all that went wrong in your life.

I have good news though, and the answer is simple.

Put down the bags.

"Let it go, Elsa."

Human life is interesting. We make so much of things that happen to us that we let it cripple us. But truth be told, at this very moment, you have as much potential as the day you were born. You have time left. You can drop the hurts, the bad habits, the slights, the bad feelings, the regrets, the fears and move on. Make amends. Drop the issues. Dream a new dream.

Yes, we are all bag ladies. But we don't have to remain that way. God has given you a great gift of redemption. You are a new person. It doesn't really matter if others believe you or not. You know. You realize it now. You can let the past go, and leave it behind.

Drop the baggage, and live.

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