Be Forgiving….

I’m an organizer…….but not your typical “everything in its place” kind of organizer. I enjoy finding unique ways to hide my stuff in plain sight. Decorative boxes and old suitcases adorn my family room full of miscellaneous objects that will certainly be needed someday! The last time we moved, I cleaned out the boxes and bags and found a couple of my son’s action figures he used to play with when he was   about 5. He was 12 at the time! I so wanted to just put them back because I knew that he would want to play with them again someday!

I have a small linen closet in my house which I use to store…..well……linens and things (not the retail store, though sometimes it looks like it!). This closet was driving me nutty with comforters bulging off the shelves and fitted sheets which, despite lessons from Martha Stewart, I’ve never been able to figure out how to fold neatly! Being the organizer that I am, I couldn’t let this closet go unattended any longer! I decided that the only answer was those nifty zipper lock bags that you suck all the air out of to shrink the size of your stuff. I made my purchase and headed home on a mission to conquer the closet!

The bags were HUGE, and I was excited to see how much stuff I could cram in one! I stuffed in comforters, pillows, blankets, etc. Then I got out the vacuum and sucked the life out of them! What was left was the cutest little cube of multicolored crushed stuff you’ve ever seen! I quickly got started on the next bag. When I was all done, I stacked all of my cute little cubes into the closet on the shelves and stepped back with a satisfied spirit. Then I closed the door and walked away. Done!

I had such a sense of satisfaction every time I opened that closet. Everything was so neatly tucked away awaiting the day when it would become useful to me again. Then one day I went to the closet, opened the door………and was literally attacked by all of those comforters, blankets and pillows that had been so neatly cubed in their tiny space! My bags had exploded! I sat down and laughed out loud!

As I think back on this episode now, I can relate this to my life. How often had I packed so many past hurts, lack of forgiveness, resentment and bitterness into my tiny little bags of self-righteousness and tucked them all away nice and neat? The baggage I carried was sure to explode one day! My life was designed by God to be a journey following Him. My baggage was so heavy and overstuffed that I had to do something about it quickly! What choices did I have? I could choose to add a carry-on bag for my journey. That way it would be small enough to store under my seat……though I discovered that I was already storing extra baggage under my seat! I could check out the overhead compartment though those areas are often hard to reach and the baggage falls on your head when you least expect it.

God had an answer to my overstuffed baggage problem. Colossians 3:12-13 says,

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the LORD forgave you.”

I had to let go of all of the stuff I had packed into my bags for so many years! All the hurts I had stuck to my old suitcase like travel stickers. I had to forgive those who had hurt me both intentionally and unintentionally. When I began this painful process, God began to reveal to me a lot more baggage coming around the conveyer belt than I ever realized I had! There was no way I could get it all off before it was sucked back into the tunnel again! “Lord, how could all of this baggage have accumulated? I started the journey with just this little old duffel bag!”

Then God reached out and took hold of me, lifting the bags from my hands and my shoulders. He spoke these words to my heart from Matthew 11:28-30. “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.”   After He did this, I felt the baggage get lighter. I was no longer embarrassed to go to the baggage claim and claim my bag. It was a small bag, a backpack, large enough for the essentials. Inside were peace, rest, comfort and joy. Praise God for the forgiveness He so freely gives and the forgiveness we can give freely to others. There’s never a need for more baggage. Take your cares and your hurts to Him daily and lay them down at the foot of the cross! Then rise up and run knowing that Jesus has already claimed all your baggage!

We’re talking about the process of forgiveness in the Forums and devotionals.  Do you have any baggage that needs to be taken off your hands?   Post a comment or for a more private conversation join us in the forums!

Kim is the wife of a wonderful husband, Phillip, and the mother of two beautiful children… Haleigh, who is in college serving the Lord through Baptist Campus Ministries and her local church, and Jeremiah, who is very active in youth group and technology in our church.  Kim and her husband have been in ministry for 22 years serving churches in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Delaware. She enjoys teaching young adults in her church, but the number one priority as a pastor’s wife is being just that…….the Pastor’s wife!  Kim believes there is no greater calling and privilege for a woman than to support her husband fully in the ministry God has called him to do! “I am truly blessed beyond belief!”