SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2010

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

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Dear Friends in Our Lord Jesus:

Nearly 30 years ago, Keith and Sharon Drury learned an important lesson. They were hiking along the Appalachian Trail at the time, and their backpacks were stuffed with everything imaginable.

Here is what they learned: They were carrying so much "stuff" that they could not enjoy the journey. They could not even focus on the beautiful scenery because they were so bowed down by the weight. It wasn't until they got rid of their excess "stuff" that they were able to enjoy the trail. Quite simply, the trail had become a trial.

Years later, they applied the same lesson to their journey through life. "The truth came back to me," Keith wrote. "The Lord took me back to my Appalachian Trail experience. He seemed to say, 'The truth is the same -- the greatest joy comes to those who travel light.' A light went on in my head. I kept falling into the same trap again. I was assuming that all these things would produce a more comfortable trip -- yet they were loading me down and draining the joy of traveling through the earth."

And then he added: "Even when we had accumulated a household of nice things, they didn't seem to satisfy us. We still 'needed' more."

Keith and Sharon began to categorize the things in their life into two major categories -- "necessities" and "aids to ministry." "None of these answers comes easily," he wrote. "We continue to struggle with most of them, sometimes every day. But it's the painful struggle that gives me the peace afterward . . . I have a God-given conviction that brings continuing joy."

The truth is difficult to hear: We often carry so much "baggage" -- physical, mental, emotional, spiritual -- that we are unable to enjoy the great journey of life. But the solution is so simple: Most of what we struggle to carry belongs in the arms of the Lord.

-- The Very Rev. Dr. Steve Sellers +