BAGGAGE

Not a great picture of these too handsome men in my life.

As we journey through life we carry with us our baggage from the past and worries and hopes and dreams of the future.

It just seems like moments ago when Rick arrived at our door bringing in his heavy suitcase and enjoy a visit with us.  The next morning before he went exploring for a special bookstore the three of us went for a walk in the water-shed park.  My favorite place to walk.

During his stay with us Rick unpacked his bag for the items he would need for the next few days.

All of us also carry spiritual baggage with us, things we have heard and seen and experienced, that was taught to us growing up.  The language that one hears that is "religious" adds confusion and misunderstandings.  A lot of what has been learned has imprinted negative images on our minds.  At one time I pictured God as an old man with a long beard who lived somewhere up in the vast heavens.

I now see this as a negative image that has been replaced by loving energy that surrounds us all.

If you really want to grow spiritually from childlike faith it is important to unpack what you think you know;  and see that there are ways of seeing God which you can relate to.  I know that I need to feel the comfort and strength in times of uncertainty.

I agree with the Jewish Rabbi David Aaron that God wants me and you to find happiness in our journey through life and learn to live in relationship with others and with Him.  Joyless religion that is strict and demanding causes all of us to turn away and go in the opposite direction.  What is needed is to find truth in the story that is religion and allow the mind to become excited, the heart warmed and a spark of new life enter their soul.

"The point is this:  there is no more powerful directing force in your behavior than your beliefs.  To take control of your life, you must have clarity about your beliefs, because it is your beliefs that command your actions, inform your lifestyle, and determine the quality of your life."
Living A Joyous Life by Rabbi David Arron.

I believe that actions speak louder than words so that I would not go to a church to listen to anyone unless I see their faith being acted out in their lives.  I also find it impossible to trust some intellectual who has never been touched by faith.

I have myself said some pretty dumb things like "eat your supper don't you know that there are people going to bed hungry".  The point was that what we do with what we have been given has an affect on others.  Questioning the words that I heard as a child and then repeated as an adult is now my responsibility.  Attitudes can be changed with unpacking the negative and coming alive to a new and greater possibility for caring and understanding.

Our minister translates the scripture from the language it was written in.  Words have different and deeper meanings as we try to understand the words of the writer and what is being said.

I was looking for mushrooms on our walk in the forest and found both of these.

I could have just as easily walked right by.