Unpacking the Past

You have arrived. The year is 2018, and it’s time to unpack. What did you bring? The years have spun away, yet you’ve moved ahead. You’ve had too. Life’s requirement, none can stay behind. I suspect you’ve tossed some excess pieces along the way. But I want to know only one thing: What did you keep? What was worth lugging all that way to get to right now?

“Oh, I can carry it,” the child responded cheerfully. “It isn’t heavy. I’ve all my worldly goods in it, but it isn’t heavy. And if it isn’t carried in just a certain way the handle pulls out–so I’d better keep it because I know the exact knack of it. It’s an extremely old carpetbag.” –Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

I love Anne’s story. She carries a carpet bag of a little known past and precarious beginnings with the best case of hopes and dreams to grow on. This fictional gal had a way of holding on. Had a knack for it. Did you know? Hope smothers weariness. And HOPE, himself, offers rest and a lightened burden. (Matt.11:28-30)

I’ve unlatched the lid to my case, and I’m peering within. All kinds of old stories are spilling out. But I can read them with hope. I know the endings. And the unwritten days? I’ve got hope for those too. And if they’re tough? What then? Hope happens to be a byproduct that begins with tribulation, perseverance, and character.

Hope won’t disappoint.

Because the love of God has been poured into our hearts…(Romans 5)

We are surrounded by hope.