Sunday, November 26, 2017

Travel Light

TRAVEL LIGHT



Armchair travel is a lot of fun. Some of my favorite trips are via Rick Steves' Europe. His half-hour shows on public broadcasting stations are educational and fun to watch.


One noticeable thing about Mr. Steves is how he travels light. In fact, on one of his DVDs he has tips on just how he does it.

I can think of only one time when I succeeded in traveling light. I was highly motivated because I was taking a flight to Washington state for a friend's wedding.

By planning carefully, I packed a backpack with what I needed for the week. I also took my shoulder purse and wore my London Fog coat. The trip went well.

Packing is Personal

Life is a journey that also goes better when we travel light. One way to do that is to avoid carrying grudges. Another way is to let go of regrets. Both are weights that slow us down.

Offenses are a part of life that must be dealt with. Colossians 3:13 (NIV) has a couple of recommendations: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.

My thesaurus actually has an entry for bear with. It is followed by words like tolerate, be patient, put up with and endure.

Find forgive in my dictionary and you'll see it means to give up resentment against someone. It also means to stop being angry with them and/or to cancel their debt.

Can you see how bear with and forgive work together? Most people think of forgiveness as a one-time action. But deciding to forgive is only step one. Saying "I forgive you" is step two. But that's not always the end of it.

Unpack and Leave It Out

There was once a person I fully intended to forgive. I even said the right words, thinking that would end my inner struggle. But I learned I had to bear with the situation, too.

We were co-workers. Each time the offense came to mind I chose to travel light. I refused to take up the offense again. I said, "I have forgiven and I'm letting it go."

Eventually I was at peace with the person and situation. 

Happy Traveling


I know my experience was not unique because when I was a ministry associate people often mentioned their struggle to forgive. 

They were always encouraged to know they could continually choose to travel light.

You can, too.

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