Baggage

Note: this blog is sorta lengthy. If you don't want to read much, I recommend you stop now.

If you didn't stop, congratulations, you're about to read my attempt at tackling a topic we're all familiar with in some way. Here we go.

First of all, how is this blog related to life at Point Loma? It's a loose connection really. It's Spring Break and this springs (pun intended) from my experience away from the school itself but with school friends. I got home from a road trip with some Loma friends a little while ago (blog about the whole trip to come soon) and when I got home, the word "baggage" kept running through my head.

Baggage (noun) - Past history, experiences, or opinions that may have be disadvantageous or have negative effect

We all have baggage. But it comes in many different shapes and forms. Baggage from a dating relationship that maybe didn't end so well, baggage from a tough family life and/or childhood, baggage from a traumatic event, baggage from a past mistake or many past mistakes, even baggage from something that you saw or read that effected you in a dramatic way. I have baggage. And if you're human, odds are - you've got some too. Probably not the same baggage that I have and probably not the baggage that your friends have but it's still baggage.

The beauty of baggage is that we don't always carry it on our own. Tere are moments we experience in which we step away from our bags, if even for a short time. Another beauty is that sometimes, whether we realize it or not, in community with friends, we stop carrying our baggage alone. That's one thing I'm learning about pepole college. I'm just getting back home after a 3 day road trip with some of my friends from Point Loma and I'm seeing how often we help each other carry each other's baggage. It's not always in huge ways but sometimes we'll help someone carry their luggage by walking alongside them. Other times we carry it for them and let them rest from carrying their heavy load. More often, I think, do we watch them carry their bags and their suitcases and feel the burden of their baggage as they carry it. Watching a friend suffer isn't wrong, as a Christian, we're called to suffer with those who suffer. Sometimes that means standing by and just being there, not getting involved. But we never leave them alone.

In 72 hours of being with people, a lot of hours were spent driving. In the car I was in on the way back home, we shared life stories. I can't exactly speak for the other people in the car, but I felt like we shared our baggage. Point Loma students, college students, and people in general come into a friendship already having experienced life apart from one another. If nothing else, we showed one another some of the baggage that we've accumulated over our last 18 or 19 years of life. There is something magical about getting to hear each other's story in an informal manner like a 6 hour car ride. It's not the same as you would share your story in a church small group, or in giving a testimony, it's just you. At least, to the extent that you want to show the real you in that time. As we shared our life stories, I observed of myself and of others that we brought up things from our pasts that hurt us and things that helped us grow. We laughed together at the stupid things in our lives and I could feel that if someone brought up something that hurt them, that we hurt with them. It wasn't necessary to try to fix their problems, because it was in the past for one, and secondly, it's just a part of life.

Life hurts people. Regardless of your background, crap happens. But this isn't surprising. When Jesus walked the earth, he confirmed this. He said, "In this world you will have trouble." (John 16:33) So it's not as if it surprised me about the things that some people have gone through but it sometimes is surprising the extent of which people suffer. That verse goes on to say, "But take heart! I have overcome the world." Good thing that Jesus provides hope despite our troubles. Otherwise we'd be screwed.

This may seem random, but bare with me. Do you know what a yoke is? There are actually a bunch of different definitions of the word, but in this context, let's go with what how the word was used back in the day of Jesus. In that day, when a rabbi, otherwise known as a teacher of the Jewish law, would take someone under his wing of knowledge, the rabbi would invite people to learn to keep the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). This was called taking "the yoke of Torah" or "the yoke of the kingdom of heaven." Different rabbis would have different interpretations of the Torah, called a yoke. Often, a rabbi's yoke consisted of an extraneous amount of rules and guidlines on how to follow what the Torah said and it wasn't easy to keep all the rules. But take a look at what Jesus says. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Let's bring this full circle. If the yoke that Jesus offers to His followers is easy and His burden is light, then shouldn't the only thing that we, as His followers, carry be light and easy on us? The baggage that we carry doesn't have to weigh us down. If we instead take Jesus' yoke, His burden, and stop carrying ours around wherever we go on our own strength, we'll find that we're no longer weighed down by our baggage and we'll find God to be faithful when we do what the Word says in Psalm 55:22. "Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you."

We've all got baggage, but what we do with the baggage we accumulate is what makes us either grow or suffer as we carry it alone. The good news is that we don't have to carry it alone. We have Jesus and as I'm experiencing, we also have our friends.

Sorry if I seemed to be rambling a bit. God just laid the word "baggage" on my heart when I got home and this is what came of it.

That is all.