Traveling Light . . . by Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Living with purpose is a beautiful thing. Some of us do it every day. Some of us feel that sense of meaningful purpose just once in a while… or not at all. One of the things we can do to cultivate that sense of purpose is to “travel light”. Don’t get bogged down with so much stuff. Pay attention to all you’re “carrying” that might be distracting you or weighing you down.

Max Lucado’s book, Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear, has much food for thought on this topic. He starts out with a comedic description of his own boy-scoutish tendency to “be prepared” for everything and therefore leave nothing behind. Then he gets us thinking…

"I don’t know how to travel without granola bars, sodas, and rain gear. I don’t know how to travel without flashlights and a generator and a global tracking system. I don’t know how to travel without an ice chest of wieners. What if I stumble upon a backyard barbecue? To bring nothing to the party would be rude…

…I need to learn to travel light. You’re wondering why I can’t. "Loosen up!" you’re thinking. "You can’t enjoy a journey carrying so much stuff. Why don’t you just drop all that luggage?"

Funny you should ask. I’d like to inquire the same of you. Haven’t you been known to pick up a few bags?

Odds are, you did this morning. Somewhere between the first step on the floor and the last step out the door, you grabbed some luggage. You stepped over to the baggage carousel and loaded up. Don’t remember doing so? That’s because you did it without thinking. Don’t remember seeing a baggage terminal? That’s because the carousel is not the one in the airport; it’s the one in the mind. And the bags we grab are not made of leather; they’re made of burdens.

The suitcase of guilt. A sack of discontent. You drape a duffel bag of weariness on one shoulder and a hanging bag of grief on the other. Add on a backpack of doubt, an overnight bag of loneliness, and a trunk of fear. Pretty soon you’re pulling more stuff than a skycap. No wonder you’re so tired at the end of the day. Lugging baggage is exhausting."
-excerpt from Traveling Light, by Max Lucado

Take a moment to consider what kind of extra stuff you carry… and how you might benefit from letting some of it go. Then check out this reading from the Bible, where Luke gives us an account of how Jesus sent off a whole slew of folks on an important mission: Luke 10:1-9

I don’t know about you, but I would love to be a part of such an intensely focused mission… where the most important thing you have in your pocket is peace. And healing. And some awesome news to share! Travel light, Jesus directs, so you can be focused on the oh-so-vital job I’ve given you. Focused and free.

But let’s face it. Letting go of stuff – whether it’s material stuff or emotional stuff — is so so hard. It’s so hard for me to let go of the little things I’ve collected that bring back treasured memories. Each time I let go is like a little death. And as hard as it is to let go of the positive things, it can be even tougher to let go of the negative stuff that clings on.

…I was hauling those souvenirs of misery
And with each step taken my back was breakin’…

Sara Groves’ and Joel Hansen’s duet, Traveling Light, grabbed my attention with those words “souvenirs of misery”. Why in the world would one carry stuff that reminds you of awfulness? See where this song takes you in answering that question: video  lyrics .

There’s lots of wisdom in Jesus’ choice to send out his crew in teams. Loning it doesn’t work. We can begin to drop the unnecessary baggage when we’ve got team support to do it, when there are other travelers walking beside us to keep our spirits lifted. And when that team spirit bubbles up from the love God gives us in Jesus… and not just our own desire to “improve ourselves”… then that love can ripple out from us to affect others on the journey.

Healing Spirit of Jesus, bubble within us that desire to be out there in your world, filled with purpose, loving your people. Help us to let go of all that weighs us down. When that feels like death to let go, walk beside us to show us the new life you would have us find. We can’t do it without you and the people you give us to team with. Lead us on! In your holy name we pray… amen.

Continue the conversation by leaving your comments below and/or by joining the btw community Thursday (July 1), 7pmEST, for our audio skype conversation. If you’re new to skype, set up your identity at http://www.skype.com/, then look for “bythewaycommunity”. All are welcome! Come as you are.

A Very, Very Belated Response (and you'll read why)

- Crystal
'what we read, and what prayers we said' on the 23rd @ the Crowne Plaza in Nashua: http://breadforyourjourney.blogspot.com/

Our discussion that evening led to a variety of topics but particularly to the concept of 'letting go' and trusting in God... letting the Holy Spirit flow and work through us. At one point, someone in the group brought up that 'letting go' is easier said than done... s/he asked, "How do you let go and trust God?"

While we couldn't come up with any conclusive answers, we seemingly all agreed on how to take the first step: you have to ask yourself what you're trying to let go of. As Crystal phrased it in the quote above, you have to figure out what rope you're clinging on to.

I work between 70 and 80 hours a week at a job I really enjoy, traveling all over New England and meeting a lot of great folks. At the same time, I've never felt like being a financial associate was a calling per say, so I've always wondered what's driven me to work so much at it. There's been some nights when I've gotten home from an appointment only to realize I didn't even stop to eat all day. There's even been the occasional night where I didn't allow myself the time to sleep before I left the next morning. Frankly, I got to get a bit better at time management. Still though, there's a lot more to it.

Two evenings ago I spent some time in my hometown, including a couple of hours in front of my mother's grave. They say that "mother always knows best," so while there, I logically asked her what to let go of in order to lead a more purposeful life, doing God's work in the world... she actually answered (I think). It popped into my head that I needed to let go of my anger... particularly at my parents.

"Someone once said that every man is trying to either live up to his father's expectations or make up for his father's mistakes..." - President Barack Obama, in Dreams of my Father.

Whatever your opinion of the President, the quote above rings true. My father was a great man (and still is) but I grew up my whole life judging him for not 'succeeding enough...' not having enough friends, a position of leadership at his company, or whatever else success meant to me at that age. I believe my mom gave me a nudge two evenings ago to let go of my blind pursuit of success. Instead of attempting to make up for my father's perceived mistakes (which probably aren't really mistakes at all), I have to define what success actually means for/ how God wants to work through me in this world. With my mother on the other hand, I have to let go of my anger at her for dying, but that's a whole other story... this post is long enough.

One part of letting go for me then is probably dropping down that 80 hour work week to about 65 hours, so I can have enough time to support the ministry hear at by the way, in the way I feel called to do it. Get the title now? As a final note, I wrote A LOT here... I encourage you (especially our mostly online friends) to use the comment section below to meditate on what you might need to let go of in your own life. I have to leave (the mechanic just called and my car's fixed, right in time for rush hour), but I'll leave you with this song as some background music for while you're thinking:



God's peace,
Dustin