“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ~Isaiah 9:6

These names of our Savior have been at the front of my mind lately, and not just because the Christmas season is upon us. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been seeing Him at work on our campus in some pretty amazing ways – truly showing Himself to be the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.

And part of that involved a little conversation about…garbage bags? I’d be willing to bet that not many of your conversations revolve around garbage bags, but around here, it has been the topic of many conversations as of late. And there IS an explanation for that.

You see, we all carry “bags” with us in life, some bigger than others. What’s in those bags? It could be anything. Shame (from our own sinful choices or sinful choices others have made against us.) Addiction. Failed relationships. Rejection. Traumatic experiences. People who hurt us somehow. Abuse. Neglect. Family dynamics. The death of a loved one. The list is endless. But when those things aren’t dealt with, they accumulate in a “bag” we carry with us. Those bags and how we handle them impact everything about our lives – how we give and receive love, how we see ourselves and others, our sense of security and worth, our purpose, our identity, and our relationships, to name a few. If not handled properly, the results are painful. Maybe we hold our bags up between us and others so no one can get close. Maybe we take out things inside it and fling it at others. Maybe we add to others’ bags because ours feels so heavy. Maybe we just feel crushed and alone. Maybe we pretend it isn’t there because all that stuff is “in the past.”

Going through our bags is scary and messy work, but it’s also beautiful and rewarding. And that’s precisely what our kids have been working on and why it’s been a topic of many conversations here. They have begun the work of cleaning out their bags because they recognize how much they have been weighed down by them. This visual of a “bag” we carry has been part of a series we are doing in our Sunday evening chapel services, and it’s provided openings for many conversations with our kids. One way we have helped them find ways to communicate and explore this is through art. A few weeks ago, they were asked to create some visual representation of their bag and/or what’s inside it. With their permission and without going into detail about their bags, I’d like to show you some of their creations

I recently read this quote: “Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.” Peter said it best when he said, “Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) The cares (or in the case, the “bags”) we carry were not meant for us to bear alone. This work of going through our bags was meant to be done with the One whose shoulders can (and did!) bear the weight of it all. Here, we are doing the hard and holy work of healing, of casting our cares, of cleaning out our bags, of bringing things out one by one and letting the Wonderful Counselor do His work to heal each broken part. We are all a work in progress, but there is no question that God has been on the move on our campus. As we think about this Christmas season and Jesus coming as a baby to rescue us all from sin and death and all that’s in our “bags,” may you also encounter Him as the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.