I have baggage. But so probably do you. Baggage are those nagging, pestering, hurtful and secret things we just can’t seem to give up. We don’t want to bring them to the cross because who really would love us if they saw what was in our bags? Who would want to be near us if they knew our insides? Do we even want to be near ourselves when we reflect upon what hangs on our shoulders?
Yesterday in morning chapel we both symbolically and literally left our baggage at Christ’s altar. Equipped with a luggage tag and some harsh reality, the campers and staff alike looked into themselves to those spots where we don’t want anyone else to look. Julio, one of the deans for the week, challenged us to give it up. Admit it to God by writing it on this piece of paper and then let it down. Place it at His feet.
This obviously doesn’t mean that our problems are solved or that the pain, anger, hurt or disbelief that we admitted is soothed but it’s a beautiful first step. We all had to be honest and realize that yes, there is something that we carry heavily on our back and yes, we feel like we can’t share it, and yes, we would even keep it secret from God if we could. But He has seen our insides and loves us still and was just waiting for us to take that first step to letting it go.
