Unpacking

I love vacations. I love getting away. At least two weeks before I leave I begin making piles. I lay out my clothes to make sure I have an outfit for each day. I can’t forget my camera, medicines, gps, hotel reservation information, addresses, phone numbers and on and on – just like Prego – it is all in there.

But eventually, the vacation is over and I am back home and everything has to be unpacked. Unpacking is not near as much fun.

The whole trip can pretty much be retraced by what is left in the car, in my purse, and in the suitcases. One of the first things I do is dig out my camera and upload pictures. It is like reliving the whole trip again. Then there are ticket stubs from attractions I visited which stir up happy memories of laughter and fun. I always bring home souvenir cups from everywhere I go to remind me of my visit as I sit and have my morning tea. Of course, there is always some trash to be dealt with. Leftover McDonald bags, Starbucks coffee cups, Wal-Mart bags, empty water bottles, chocolate wrappers etc. are mixed in with all my other vacation treasures.

I have found the same thing true in my daily life. At the end of the day I have collected some treasures and some trash. There is a prayer called the prayer of excamen which is basically an unpacking prayer. When I get into bed, and before I drift off to sleep, I take a few minutes and basically unpack my day. The last 24 hours were a gift from God. You and I will never get them back. How did I use them?

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living." So I start off by examining the good things in my day. Even on the worst of days, God is faithful to send His love. The fact that I was able to get out of bed, walk, dress myself, feed myself are all gifts from God. I remember the sound of a child laughing and I smile. I remember the unexpected phone call from a friend. I remember the amazing sunset that God painted at the end of my day. I want to end my day with an attitude of gratitude.

On every journey we collect a little trash that just needs to be thrown out. I gather up any anger, frustration, doubt, fear, worry, jealousy that got left in my life and give them to Jesus. I ask for forgiveness of any harsh words I spoke, missed opportunities, unkind acts.

Envision your suitcase if you never unpacked but just kept adding stuff each time you went somewhere. Fairly quickly one suitcase turns into two, three, four. You are now carrying around dirty clothes and trash right along with your treasures and happy memories.

So tonight before you drift off to sleep, say an unpacking prayer and then-

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, LORD,

make me dwell in safety.

SWEET DREAMS