The Un-Packed Suitcase...

After about 2 months of living out a black suitcase, caring it from one house to the next, to camp and to conference...it finally gets un-packed and the contents inside get folded and placed on a shelf. The bag gets pushed into a corner for right now until the next time to travel.


As I looked at the empty suitcase and what was once an empty shelf now contains my neatly folded clothes, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I will no longer be living out of the suitcase nor going from house to house but staying in my own home, with my un-packed clothes.


When you look at a suitcase, many thoughts and emotions probably come to mind, such as; excitement, adventure, vacation, seeing and experiencing new things, peace, happiness, relaxation, family, friends, traveling to a new place, and memories...
These are what I'd consider common thoughts we think of when we see a suitcase...but this time, when i un-packed the suitcase, with the feeling of accomplishment still there, i felt other emotions, such as; nervousness, excitement for this journey, fear of the unknown, sadness, and thoughts of, "What is going on!", "This is for real!", "This is my life!", old memories, the past and the time before I left.
All these things went through my mind when I looked at the shelf filled with clothes and the once packed suitcase, that was with me the last 2 months...


As all these emotions went racing through my brain, the knowledge that God has me here for a reason comes racing faster then the other emotions. Yes there is fear of being here and sadness and nervousness... there is the feeling knowing that God brought me here for a reason...He has a purpose for me being over here and as hard as it is, God is growing, teaching and maturing me. He is helping me grow in who I am and in my relationship with Him! 


So as we all go through different things in our lives, He is molding and teaching us through them...and as hard and as scary as it is, there comes a time in all of our lives when we have to "un-pack' our suitcases. So whatever hardship you are going through now, know that God is with you and it is okay to "un-pack" and step out of what we know...God is with you through it all!           Joshua 1:9


Sincerely;
Miss Melanie