Travelling light

I am reflecting my way through a book by Max Lucado titled 'Traveling Light - Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear."

Chapter one - The luggage of life.

Here Max uses an analogy of being over prepared when his is going on a holiday or a trip. He says that, due to habit and a need to be always prepared for every outcome, he throws into his bag all sorts of unnecessary this and thats - hence making his burden heavier than it needs to be. "I've never been one to travel light", says Max.

Max goes on to say that he should listen to the voice that says "Set that stuff down! You're carrying burdens you don't need to bear." The voice goes on to say " Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28)

Max next goes on to reveal how we can let the voice (God) lessen our load - Psalm 23 - here are some of the verses that jumped out at me (after the second read).

• He makes me to lie down in green pastures - lying down equals rest - green pastures equals life.
• He leads me beside still waters - Peaceful - no hazards - welcoming.
  
• He restores my soul - when you think of what can be restored these days with the latest technology - old photos made into new etc - just think what God can do to the shattered, disillusioned, damaged or neglected souls.
  
• He leads me in the path of righteousness - It's not all take - I need to walk the walk. I need to talk the talk. I need to be willing to be led into Godliness. This is my choice. He leads. He does not shove or push or drag or demand - He leads.
• For Thou are with me - I confess to being a victim from the classic case of ' who really is going to be there for ME?'. Well, He says, He will be!

The verses go on to remind me that when I place my trust in Him and when I allow His peace to restore my soul then - my cup will run over, goodness and mercy will follow me - ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE! That's not bad a promise to hold onto in this disposable world we now live in.

• And I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever - this may mean heaven for some - it may even be the intent of the author - but for me it says that if I dwell (linger, hang out) in His presence then I will never be alone (in the here and now). Forever would indicate that it lasts for infinity but it starts right here, right now.

Max also uses another analogy of a bride and groom entering their wedding day with bags (burdens) and tags plastered all over them. The tags are defining the baggage that they are both bringing into this new relationship. I really liked the analogy but have chosen not to reflect on it too much as it hits pretty close to the bone. I think Max is suggesting through this analogy that if we are carrying too many extra bags then we loose the capacity to carry the ones we are meant to be carrying .

"Set them down", he says. "How do you embrace someone if your arms are full?". This point required a little more thinking. I certainly carry excess baggage (emotional burdens) but I have always found that if I come across someone who needs to be embraced (physically, financially, mentally or emotionally) I find a way to carry that load as well. In fact, sometimes I think that my burdens seem much lighter when I am carrying someone else's. Hah! As I type this justification I am starting to get a little niggle of a thought that perhaps, just maybe, there lies the problem. I suspect God (through Max's writings) will cover that a little later.

At the beginning of the chapter Max shared why he always needing to be over prepared - which in turn led him to carrying stuff he didn't need to carry. For Max it was going back to his memories of the old Scouts salute - 'BE PREPARED'.

I have a clear memory as a child of stealing a pound note from my dad's wage money. I had no idea what the value of that note was - but I now know that it was a considerable portion of his wage. I took the money and went and bought a whole lot of sweets. I then took these treasures to school and gave one to all my friends and all the children who looked like they could do with a treat ( kind of me, right?). Of course, after school all the children walked past our house and said hello to my mum. They also excitedly told her how generous I had been that day. Mum figured out I was the culprit. I was sent out to the backyard to wait until dad got home.

I remember it began to snow and I was freezing. I stayed outside for hours. When dad got home he took me upstairs and belted me with his army belt. Outcome -A bit drastic, but I learnt a great lesson and vowed never to steal again.

A little while later some more money went missing. This time it was my sister ( who is one year older than me). Mum was really worried at what dad would do to my sister. Apparently I was dad's favorite (did not feel that way when I was getting the strap!) and mum was convinced that if I got the belting I did then surely dad would kill my sister. Mum begged me to pretend it was me who had stolen the money and confess to dad on behalf of my sister. What did I do? I carried her load, that's what!This time my belting was done with the buckle side of the belt.The damage to my behind was pretty ugly. Dad had been drinking and kind of lost it.

The point of this story is not to share some miserable childhood drama but to really begin to identify and resolve why it is I tend to hold onto burdens allowing them to weigh me down when I am feeling vulnerable. After all, Max identified his training. I was trained to be the burden carrier. I don't think you can really disregard or underestimate the influence of childhood experiences. And although that particular incident rarely reaches my conscious state any more, I think it would be fair to say that it has remained in my subconscious and jumps out (usually in some disguise) when I am feeling particularly vulnerable or disappointed.

Intellectually I know that I can lay down my burdens at His feet. As Max quoted - to conclude chapter one - "Unload all your worries onto Him, since He is looking after you." (1 Peter 5:7).

For the sake of those you love, travel light.
For the sake of the God you serve, travel light.
For the sake of your own joy, travel light.

Dear God, help me move from head knowledge to heart experience. Amen