As I prepared for a trip to Europe with my best friend, I brought her over to check out my packing plan. She laughed as she looked at everything laid out and said – ‘That will be good once you cut it in half.’
I thought she was crazy.
But as we walked through the clothes, the weather, the activities, we were able to shrink the articles of clothing by two-thirds!
Three things helped me to pack light:
- I understood the itinerary
- I knew what would be expected at each event
- I enlisted the help of someone more experienced with travel
If I look at my soul as a suitcase, I realize that I’ve just tried to pack way too much in there. I look at my bookshelves lined with lots of knowledge about the Bible. I google information and find thousands of podcasts with everyone offering the latest and greatest tips for Christian living, Christian parenting, Christian marriage and even, Christian eating. The list is endless. The ability to pack everything into my soul is virtually (no pun intended) impossible. And it seems the more I try to put in there, the heavier my soul gets.
And guess who gets to carry that heavy soul around with her? Me.
It was time to lay everything out in front of me and check my packing list:
- What is my itinerary? To become an image bearer of Christ and lead others to Him.
- What is expected? To walk by the Spirit in obedience.
- How can I enlist someone with more experience? I have a spiritual mentor who will keep me grounded in the basics and encourages me in the Word.
As a result, I found out that I don’t need a lot of that stuff I was grabbing in the bookstores and printing off from the web. Like my over packed suitcase – it’s not that it’s bad stuff, it’s just not necessary for my journey.
Having packed lighter, I find I’m also lighter on my feet as I engage with others. I’m more eager to share the Light and Life of Christ and I also find myself enjoying my relationship with my Jesus a whole lot more. I just don’t need as much as I once thought I did.
What’s in your spiritual suitcase that you can unload to make your life in Christ lighter?