Packing For The Right Trip
As I think about Christmas being just around the corner, I can’t help but think about how I live my life!? Do I live my life for ideas of who I want to be and the stuff I surround myself with, or do I live in contentment, joy, and peace?
Dan and I were busy packing the other night to head home for Christmas. We are also going on a week’s vacation after. As we were packing for the two vastly-different-weather trips, we realized that our clothes are old. Some are from close to our college days, some have stains, and some look pretty worn. Dan was telling me about a shirt he had and the collar was so stained. Well, he took it to Haiti and the women there were able to get the stains out! I think I could learn a lesson or two from them! Anyways, as we were packing, we realized we just are not fancy people. Plus, I have downsized my wardrobe considerably since creating my capsule wardrobe. With us, what you see is what you get.
But then I found myself thinking “oh, how fun it would be to get some new outfits, new this, new that…”
And then I had to remind myself, that is just not me and that is not what we are about. Then I started to think about Christmas again. Do I constantly live my life, thinking about the “ideal” life, getting this or that, needing to have this or that, or am I content with the life God has given me, and live in that peace on a daily basis?
I think about Christ and how He lived His life. He sure did not start out fancy by all means, being born in a manger! I am sure Mary did not have that glorious warm bath after giving birth. You do not hear Him talking about what He wore – only about what we shouldn’t worry about, which is clothing (Matthew 6). You do not hear Him talk about what He owned, except about what we should DO with what we own. You do not hear Him talking about fancy things, except that it should not define us.
The very Man we are celebrating this season, is the very reason I need to keep my eyes on Him, so that I do not fall into the trap of how I think I should be living my life, according to the world’s standards.
So in this Christmas season, I need to keep checking my heart, instead of my suitcases, to make sure I have all that I need. Yes, I don’t want to forget the essentials, but what in my own heart, am I forgetting about? When I am “packing” for the day, do I take Christ with me, or do I pack the non-essentials first, thinking those are more important?
This is just something I wrestle with on a daily basis – making sure I am packing for the right path in life! Sometimes in packing it makes you realize what you do and do not have, but they are just possessions. When packing for the Christian life, do I have the essentials? Do I have all that I need in my heart?
Something to think about…
