When the Wheels Fall Off

Everything was packed.

Everything was checked off the to-do list.

We even arrived at the airport with time to spare!

That's when it happened. The wheels fell off. The wheels of my suitcase just decided that they'd had enough and popped off just in time to reach "Delta Check In." The bag was barely under the 50 pound limit and it was heavy...too heavy to carry. There was nothing to do but send it off onto the conveyor belt, hoping that it would arrive at it's destination in tact.


On the other end, the fuchsia bag appeared on the conveyor belt and I was euphoric! Damage had been done, another wheel became a casualty and clothing was hanging out, but it had arrived. It became quickly evident that I was in need of a new bag, as soon as possible. We were able to find a store and we purchased another piece of luggage, and I began to transfer the contents of the broken bag into the new bag.


I stuffed.

I pushed.

I smashed.

The new bag just wouldn't hold all of it.


It all sounds so familiar. It sounds so familiar to my faith walk.

I come prepared. I show up early and in complete control only to find that the unexpected is certain to happen, the trials in life, and before I realize it, the wheels fall off. ("Consider it pure joy, when you face trials of many kinds. James 1:2) I'm left stranded with only one place to go.

I place it all on the conveyor belt. I send that broken baggage to Him, and I hope in the promises that it will arrive and be cared for, even when I can't see it. I see glimpses of Him, at the other end, where although damage has been done, it's not all lost. Trusting isn't easy, but sometimes it's all we've got left.

Then I am given a chance to have a "new piece of luggage." What do I do? I cling to all of the things that caused the wheels to fall off in the first place. I try and stuff it into the corners, hoping that no one will notice.

Only HE does.

He won't let me shut the new suitcase. I have to let go of some things, those things that put too much pressure on the wheels. The control, the pride, the unforgiving spirit. The new luggage simply won't hold it all. I have been given this gift of a "new suitcase," and if I don't want the wheels to fall off of this one, I've got to make some changes. I've got to lighten this load.

"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:30

It's not easy, but without letting go, I will not be going anywhere. I came across a translation in The Message that just spoke to my heart. It was just so God to place it in my life to confirm the lesson He was teaching me in my broken suitcase.

"Now I'm glad ~ not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from Him. The result was all gain, no loss."
2 Corinthians 7:9

Isn't that just like God? To bring about a life lesson in a broken suitcase.

A lesson that I needed... in a broken suitcase?

What's in your suitcase?

Mine needed a bit of re-packing...

Father God,

You have given me the gift of a new suitcase. It replaces the broken baggage of my life. Help me to surrender to YOU, what I need to pack into that bag of my life. Help me to unpack those things which keep me from you and from serving as your Son, Christ taught me to serve. Thank you Father for getting my attention in the daily details of my life. Help me always keep my eyes open to you. Thank you Father for traveling always with me.
In Jesus' name,
Amen






join Lori daily at her personal website,all you have to give, where she finds herself constantly packing and repacking, with a God who never tires of traveling with her.