you can't run when you're holding suitcases

Running with suitcases is, well...inconvenient, incomprehensible, and just plain dumb! They drag you down--almost making it impossible to finish the race. If I were to tote my backpack and duffel bag with me on my next 5K, I can promise you that I wouldn't be finishing anywhere close to first. We weren't created to run with baggage. We were hand-crafted to run free.

Dara Maclean's song, "Suitcases," beautifully depicts what a free life looks like....can you imagine what it's like to be free?

✔ I wouldn't compare myself to the girl next door, down the hallway, or in my study group. I would live boldly as the beautiful woman that God created me to be.

✔ I would forgive others when they hurt me, let me down, don't reach my expectations, and violate my trust because Christ has forgiven me.

✔ I would let go of relationships that try to hold me back, or hinder me, from all that God has in store for me.

✔ Dreaming would be a daily habit....viewing no idea--large or small--as a waste of imagination or time.

✔ Life would be lived in moments. I wouldn't rush from here to there, but I would literally stop to smell the roses and enjoy the journey.

✔ The statement that God is good & He can be trusted would be a reality, rather than just a truth in my head.

✔ Time with God wouldn't be a chore or something to check off my to-do list. It would be the life-giving energy needed to thrive in and throughout my day.

You can't run when you're holding suitcases. Yes, it's a new day, throw away your mistakes and open up your heart, lay down your guard. You don't have to be afraid. Just breathe, your load can be lifted. There's a better way when you know you're forgiven. Open up your heart, lay down your guard. You don't have to be afraid.

What Dara has discovered is that letting go of our suitcases requires vulnerability...and honestly, what's the reason we carry those suitcases in the first place? We don't want to be vulnerable. Being vulnerable is what gave us those suitcases in the first place. I was vulnerable with a friend and they took advantage of me; now I have baggage. I was vulnerable in that dream and my ideas were shot down; now I have baggage. I was vulnerable with that boy and told him how I felt, only to be left alone; now I have baggage.

Baggage hurts, yet we feel safe holding it close because it gives us this false sense of control--even though it is the complete opposite. Holding onto baggage gives us far less control than we believe it does. Gripping onto our baggage enslaves us and hinders us from living the life God desires us to live.

So how do we just drop our bags and run on? Honestly, I don't think I can give you a magical five-step solution. It really comes down to one thing: how much are you willing to trust God? I know as a fact that when I choose to trust God, it's impossible for me to hold onto my suitcases. When I TRUST HIM, I'm not comparing myself to others. When I TRUST HIM, I extend grace towards those who hurt me. When I TRUST HIM, I don't pursue relationships that don't point me straight back to Him. When I TRUST HIM, dreaming big is like second-nature to me. When I TRUST HIM, the little moments have the biggest impact on my days. When I TRUST HIM, time with Him is coveted.

Freedom then, is all a matter of trust...and who I choose to put that trust in. I can either choose to be free from the baggage weighing me down by TRUSTING in a God that is epically good; or, I can choose to be free from the life that God has planned for me--the life I dream about--by TRUSTING in myself and holding onto my suitcases.