#020 - Marred - pt. 2

OCTOBER 2016

Some brief things from the Bible…

When I think about disfiguring life events, the events that mar you…

It doesn’t take a first-year seminary student to create a Jesus comparison. When Jesus was crucified his ministry fell apart immediately, his immediate absence from the world caused a physical scar on the earth (Matthew 27). Judas hung himself, Peter denied him three times, and for three days, everyone was panic-stricken and saddened by the incredibly horrific events they had just witnessed. 

However, after Jesus showed up to repair the situation, a movement began that shaped two millennia of thought. Through the scars of Christ, we, all of us, can begin again. 

So, whatever circumstance I find myself in, I can always rely on the presence of Jesus to get me through almost anything. It is also worth noting that God has placed awesome people in my life with the power of the Holy Spirit. Persuasive speech is all about repetition.

The last couple of miles.

As we neared the end of the first leg of my journey back to Atlanta, Ray and I continued to talk about life events. My passion for flying made him demand I go to an airshow and learn how to become a pilot. It could be that God wanted this to be a metaphor for my life. Learning how to fly and guiding others through the obstacles of life. I try not to be egotistical, but life is full of wonderful coincidences, especially when you’re a Christ-follower.

After my conversation with Ray, God provided me with an acquaintance who introduced me to the joys of aviation. Maybe I should be a skywriter and write Bible verses with smoke in the air. Perhaps this is the great calling that has for me. None of this would have been realized without my brief encounter with Ray and my parents' unwavering support.  

Ray was a kind man and a charismatic representation of a person who lives a God-filled life daily. My parents- another example. Both examples are over the age of 50. 

If the young refuse to find wisdom in the old, the future is lost. The old know the mistakes of the past, whereas the young have the ideas but not the experience. The old are marred by life; the young do not hold these scars yet. 

Lots of checked baggage here.

This is why so many teenage experts and parents warn about these marring and scarring effects. Often sugar-coated with the phrase baggage because we live in a travel-oriented culture. The euphemism makes perfect sense to anyone who has had to lug luggage through a busy airport. 

As a kid, when we traveled, I tended to overpack. By overpack, I mean loading at least one hundred pounds of my personal belongings into two duffel bags, then cursing the weight of my decision. My mind at the time couldn’t imagine a life without my toys, electronics, and books. Not knowing what I would want halfway across the country left me with endless options of what to pack and what not to pack. 

So I ended up packing everything—quite literally—every single toy, book, and electronic I could fit into my oversized duffels. The choice became a poor one on most occasions. One particular memory I have is when we were late for a flight. This is a reoccurring motif in my life still to this day.

I remember running through the airport with my duffel strap, trying its hardest to snap my collarbone under the weight of everything I had brought. The funny part is that I never really used anything I brought!  When we got to our destination my mom filled our vacation with endless activities so I didn’t need the distractions my boring life at home required.

So I was carrying around all this baggage for absolutely no reason.

So why carry this heavy emotional baggage with you in life? Why let this unnecessary weight prevent you from enjoying your destination? Aren’t these circumstances meant to teach rather than impair, and if so, after serving their purpose, is it not only possible but healthy to shed this unnecessary baggage? Just like the fear that made me carry my heavy duffels through the airports of my childhood, do we hold onto these weighted parcels as if we would be missing out on something if we were to leave them behind? Ponder those questions for a bit.

My joking nature would like to make a “Jesus is your baggage handler…” analogy here, but really, Jesus is your baggage handler. Because the solution to all this baggage is to shed its superfluous hold, and as a Christian, it is what Jesus is perfect at doing on our behalf. Not to turn this into a gospel message, but that is what we as Christians are doing when we put our faith and trust in God and God through Jesus. The marring and weighted circumstances of our past become mere burdenless memories. Jesus takes the weight of our past and allows us to live a future removed from any mistakes or requirements for carrying the aforementioned euphemism for these mistakes: luggage, even if it’s a Swiss Gear bag, even if we’re fond of it. Even if it has been in the family for years, when you allow Jesus to remove these burdens from your life, the process of healing the scars created by life’s duffel straps can begin. Shed the weight because at the end of the day, you have a flight to catch, and chances are you’re already running late.

Landing the metaphorical plane.

I’ve got a lot of fun hobbies, but flying is by far the most fun and expensive way to kill time. Most people don’t realize how remarkably easy it is to get into the pilot’s seat in America. You can learn how to fly a plane if you have a US birth certificate and $250. I think most people lack the nerve, but that trend is changing. My generation is not my parents’, especially regarding cheap air travel.

My parents grew up in the days before airline deregulation and witnessed the rise and fall of many great airlines. My personal favorite of these is Pan American World Airways- the giant airline that changed and connected the world like no other. Most of the success of PanAm was attributed to the founder and longtime president Juan Trippe’s commitment to connection. 

Fortunately, this writing is not about PanAm or Juan Trippe but what happens when you cling to certain baggage. The ultimate downfall of many of the old major airlines was their inability to stay competitive when new, lower-cost airlines were introduced after deregulation. It was a world they created but one to which they did not belong.

The old airlines were marred by high costs of pensions and operations, these plans that worked great when they held route monopolies, but now were not able to allow profitability at low fares. Shortly thereafter, the 1970s oil crisis and subsequent rises in fuel costs sealed the fate of most of the great old airlines. It wasn’t their inability to tell the future but an inability to plan for the uncertainty of it. 

Planning for uncertainty is hard when your business is built on the opposite.

You can make a metaphor about something being as certain as the sun rising in the east, but that’s liable to cause a certain mouse’s liturgical team to salivate. Instead, allow me to impress upon you the idea of comfort as the ultimate Achilles Heel when it comes to marring circumstances. 

Just like with my heavy duffel bags, the loss of familiarity or comfort those items brought me was the real reason I chose to live with the pain of carrying this baggage. Perhaps this is why most people continually let their emotional baggage weigh them down. It is comforting to know that something is there, but it is also better to let go. Once you check your bags, you can travel through life unburdened. 

Some situations require leaving the bags in Albuquerque. 

Last thoughts.

Shedding emotional baggage can be as easy as acknowledging and moving on or forgiving and starting the healing process. It can be as easy as living a life of purpose and meaning again. Talk to Rick Warren about living a Purpose Driven Life. Seek help from a therapist to shape your thoughts and emotions into healthy ones. Create moments of healthy hormone releases that do not involve drugs or chemicals.

Going outside and talking to a complete stranger could be a start for some. Talking to a loved one is another. Remembering the last time you were happy or the happiest memory you can muster. Try reading or meditation. Think of a life without the baggage, without the chains that hold you, and the life you live will change. Also, follow Jesus, but that’s this whole other thing. If you are a Christ follower, let Jesus be your Skycap and walk through life’s airports unhindered. 

I started this writing after my encounter with Ray and added to it as he became a distant memory. Before we parted ways, he told me that I should go to the Oshkosh Air Show in Wisconsin and that he’d see me there someday. God placed him on my journey to give me wisdom and insight into my life. In the short drive between Nashville and Chattanooga, he gave me so many tips and tricks on how to communicate, how to respond when you don’t know what to say, and how to sell an idea. And I learned so much from him.

After all, he was a bible salesman, just like my granddad Preach.