England Journal: Day 7

The Wheels Are Coming Off: 

I had stood in the Target isle with my husband carefully considering suitcase options. He said a hard case would last longer and I said the soft one was easier to open and took up less room while opened, a detail of minor inconvenience when considering what ended up happening.

Upon arrival to England our group discovered a union strike had closed the Tube (subway system), but not the train, so a small hike with our luggage was necessary. No big deal, I thought, I happily followed the group checking on students while snapping pictures of historic architecture. Every so often a cobble stone crosswalk jostled my extra large bag. A few times a curb or drainage grate would turn a wheel sideways. With full confidence I continued on, periodically switching from pulling my bag behind me to standing it up straight and gliding it next to me on all four wheels.  I made it to the hotel with my new suitcase intact even if it had been slightly abused.

The journey home would prove more challenging as the consequence of my obliviousness reared its ugly head. Throughout the trip I had acquired quite a bit more than I came with, souvenirs, memories, and candy.  I attempted to fill my new soft case with as much as possible. In addition, our last day of sight seeing meant I didn’t need to bring my plane carry-on walking around London. So I shoved the contents of my backpack into my suitcase as well. I knew I’d take it out the next day but needed a holder for the time being.

It was still dark when my beautiful suitcase was loaded up into the vans to take us to the train station, the first of many legs of our journey home. I hopped out of the vans to say my goodbyes. I sleepily watched the men unload the absurd amount of luggage, I saw in slow motion the result of the abuse of my suitcase. My back left wheel popped off sideways, dangling by a thin piece of black plastic. Knowing the amount of pushing, pulling and jostling we are about to do I tested it out to see if I could still roll it on two, or stand it up straight. I pushed my body weight into the front right side and could keep the weight from that wheel but the awkward position sent a twinge down my lower back.

We made our way back over the brick and cobble stone crosswalks, lifts, sidewalks, escalators, subways, curbs and streets. We checked our luggage into a holding company for the day, then back out again to the last hotel before our early morning flight.

By the time we reached the bag storage office the wheel called it quits for good. I dragged it through the airport the next day on three wheels. My soft suitcase made it home, but definitely not in one piece.

It is easy to push forward over bumps and rough roads, sometimes it seems necessary to push and shove more things down in your life. “I’ll just carry it, it’s bumpy but I’ll just keep pushing or pulling.” But if you don’t unload it, sooner or later, the wheels are going to come off.

Life, following Christ, and ministry gets heavy, and rough. Sometimes there is a curb or drain that catches you wrong, maybe you have picked up souvenirs along the way, holding on to past hurts, past situations. Life right now is stuffed so full of good things but it’s too much to carry alone.

While it has become part of our culture to just deal, stuff and carry the weight of life, the scriptures actually teach the exact opposite. Jesus himself tells us what to do when we have a heavy load. In Matthew 11:28–30 Jesus says,²⁸Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

We have a savior who understands, and cares for us, providing support we need from himself. We serve a sturdy God. He isn’t fragile, yet he understands that we are.

God has also given us community.

Read about the early church and how they did life together.

Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)

⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

⁴³And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

You don’t share belongings and meals, worship together and spend time in prayer without helping each other carry life’s heavy burdens. The ‘Body of Christ’ or the Church is built to support one another. I fear we have abandoned this blessing for independence and privacy. It seems we only reach out for help when our wheels start to come off. If you find yourself stuggling in any area of life. Please, Go to Jesus. He can hold it! Then reach out to other believers, allow them the blessing of supporting you, chances are they need you too.  

TGP Questions:

Read and meditate on these scripture passages:

Psalm 55:22 ²²Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

1 Peter 5:6–11 (ESV)

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

⁷casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

⁹Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

¹¹To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The words “Cast”  here means to throw out or hurl. (In Psalm 55:22 שָׁלַךְ shâlak, shaw-lak´; to throw out, down or away (lit.) or fig.):—adventure, cast (away, down, forth, off, out), hurl, pluck, throw.^[1] In 1 Peter 5:7  it is a Greek verb, epirripto;  to propel someth. from one place to another, throw or to transfer one’s concerns, cast upon, ^[2]) It isn’t just placing them down it is a swift and decisive action to get rid of the burdens of this life. What are you going to “Cast” on the Lord?

What do you learn about God from reading the context of 1 Peter 5:7?

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

³He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What is stuffed in your suitcase?

What will you “cast” onto the Lord?

Tell him what has caused your wheels to fall off.

Commit to reaching out to a brother or sister in the Lord so you can do life together.

Note:

If you would like to know more about the ministry that leads our trips check out the Ministry Friends tab and click on the GEM icon.

If you would like to financially support my upcoming mission trip to Middlebrough, England, check out this link https://immanuelbaptist.managedmissions.com/Donations/Donate/83878

^[1] James Strong, in A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009) 117.

someth. someth. = something

^[2] William Arndt et al., in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 378.