"Baggage"

July 28, 2025 | By Chuck

      We are in the middle of summer which is the season of camps and vacations. Both of which require baggage. We will be off on our vacation trip in a few weeks, and I have already started thinking about the baggage. We must pack some things for our trip, but we try to take only what is necessary because baggage can be a hassle. Thankfully, now it is only baggage for two. I remember traveling when our kids were young and all the baggage required for a family of five. When traveling, baggage is necessary but still no fun to drag around.

            Sadly, for far too many people baggage is not something they only use a few times a year when traveling. There are plenty of people who carry baggage around every single day of their lives. Dragging their baggage around all day every day has become a way of life for them. Some adults carry emotional baggage from a bad childhood. A lot of good people carry around the baggage of some form of addiction. There are too many people carrying around the baggage of some type of abuse they have endured. And of course, there are those carrying around the baggage of a sin they struggle with.

            Two arms full of baggage for your trip does not begin to compare to the emotional baggage so many carry with them daily. So, what can we do as the church? How can we help our brothers and sisters in Christ who carry unwanted emotional baggage? Maybe we should help them unpack their baggage. Be there for them, not with the right answers, but with love, concern, and understanding. We can surely listen to their painful story and pray for them.

            “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16) For those who are carrying any kind of emotional baggage, allow your brothers and sisters to help you unpack that baggage and pray for you.