Travel Light

Travel light. Unfortunately, these words typically do not describe my packing style. At all. I tend to over-think, over-plan, and over-pack.

For our recent Spring Break trip, however, I found the packing process to be much simpler than usual. When I contemplated the reason for this refreshing phenomenon, I realized it was because we were flying.

My family is much more inclined to road trip, specializing in stuffing a mini-van like nobody’s business! Air travel, on the other hand, has built-in restrictions that force the hand of prioritizing and leaving things behind.

While there is inherent ease in such established limits, more often we are responsible for creating our own boundaries.

This insight brought me back many years to the days of tiny children living in my house. Dolls. Plastic animals. Play-Dough. Trains. Game pieces. Puzzles. Pretend food. Blocks. Books. Stuffed things galore. A treasured time for sure, but the toys were EVERYWHERE!

I vividly remember a clear bin overflowing with matchbox cars. My initial instinct was to get another bin. And then… a game-changing light bulb moment saved my sanity. NO! No more. One bin was enough. One bin was more than enough! Once it was full, some of the cars would drive off to a charitable organization (often under the cover of darkness).

It was time to take charge of my space, rather than my space taking charge of me!

A decade later, overflowing toy bins have been replaced by overflowing schedules. And I find myself realizing the exact same thing all over again. With one hand on our jammed calendar and the other on my head, I wonder how this happened. The answer is fairly simple… I keep saying “yes.”

I keep saying yes to activities that fill my time, leaving me unable to say yes to blessings that fill my heart. Less time to enjoy my family and friends. Less time to be still with God.

Just as I found relief in travel restrictions and quantity control for toys, I am learning to recognize the gift of boundaries created by the word “no.” In Priscilla Shirer’s bible study book, Breathe, she says: “‘No’ represents one of life’s most basic and necessary boundaries. It keeps things, hobbies, work, and relationships in their proper place, and serves as a constant reminder of their position in your life… saying “no” when appropriate means you only have one God and your allegiance is to Him, not to your desire for that or it or them.”

The areas where we struggle to say “no” are often the roadblocks to fully experiencing God and the bounty of blessings He has already given us. Whether we’re talking about overworking, overindulging, overspending, overcommitting, or overanythingelse, there is something within our grasp to start reclaiming control.

With God’s help, we can empty out anything weighing down our hearts and our time, and enjoy the freedom of traveling light.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.  Proverbs 4:23

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