“Can you imagine what it’s like to be free?

Well, send those bags packing.

They are not what you need.”

I just love the above lyrics from Dara Maclean’s song “Suitcases.” In the chorus, she sings about how impossible it is to run while holding suitcases. And it made me think, have I ever actually tried to run while holding luggage?

Imagine with me how difficult that would be: Picture yourself standing in baggage claim at the airport, holding a large suitcase in your left hand with a carry-on bag slung over your right shoulder. Then, appearing out of nowhere amidst the crowd is your ride—maybe it’s your parents, whom you haven’t seen in years, or perhaps it’s your significant other, whom you haven’t seen in days that feel like years. I don’t know about you, but I’d start running!

However, the important thing in the above scenario, unless you wish for injury to ensue, would obviously be to drop the bags before lifting your feet to run and embrace your loved one. Even though leaving your baggage unattended at an airport is generally frowned upon, and even though you probably shouldn’t run at all in such a scenario, I think this imagined scene can be turned into a great reminder for anyone who has ever been hurt. Or anyone with a past. {Isn’t that all of us?}

What I mean is that there come times in our lives when we find ourselves trying to run with suitcases. Ladies, I’m not talking about that adorable designer handbag you cherish so deeply. Guys, I definitely am not referring to that North Face backpack you treasure so much. I’m talking about old, stinking, rotting, obnoxiously large, falling apart baggage that keeps us from being where God wants us to be.

I believe in holding onto our testimonies so that God can use our stories to bring Him glory and draw others to Him. But I do not believe in walking around with chips on our shoulders and past hurts on the forefront of our minds. Who wants to live that way? Who wants to run while holding suitcases?

Today, if you’re holding onto a painful part of your past, I pray that you would ask God to help you let it go. If someone has offended you, choose to forgive them. If you have offended another, choose to ask God and them for forgiveness. And even if your pain is a result of your own poor choices, repent and ask God to help you move forward in the opposite direction of where you have been heading!

It’s so easy—especially when we have been hurt by others—to get wrapped up in our own pain and only see our own hurts. It’s tempting to think, “No one understands how I feel.”

But if you asked me…I’d tell you that’s a lie. I believe that Christ understands our pain because He lived a perfect life and died a ruthless death in OUR place to save us from our sins! Check out this verse from 1 Peter:

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. {1 Peter 3:18}

That’s something worth remembering, savoring and celebrating! It’s something worth running toward—no baggage attached. And since we are called to be holy, let’s pursue holiness wholeheartedly. Leave your bags at the door!

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” {1 Peter 1:13-16}

 Jen

baggage Christianity dara maclean Faith letting go of baggage peter pursuing holiness1 suitcases