The Things that Weigh You Down!

I don’t know about you, but when I plan for vacation, I plan for two outfits a day and two or three extras just in case we have an activity that calls for something different.

The shoe game is a whole other thing.

I packed for a five-day trip like I was moving to Mexico for eternity.

NOT a surprise.

What was a surprise was discovering that the first bag was $50, the second bag was $60, and if your bag was overweight or God forbid you needed a third one, it was $200.

Well, paying extra for baggage was going to cut into my excursion funds, and I was not having any of that.

So there we were the night before we left, pulling things out of our bags and trying to convince each other what we could live without for five days.

I am happy to report that I came in at 45 pounds, and I was extremely proud of myself.

My “trip wifey,” as my good friend and travel companion was affectionately named for this vacation, came in at 48.6 pounds, squeaking in there by the hair of her chinny-chin-chin—as my mother would say.

One of her travel secrets was to wear a pair of sandals that were something of a dead weight.

Now, I have some shoes that are a bit heavier than others, but this was a whole other level.

We went for a drive to grab dinner the afternoon before we left, and these shoes were so heavy that she was driving erratically enough to actually make me motion sick.

Finally, exasperated, I asked, “What is going on? Can you just go one speed?”

To which she replied:

“My shoes are so heavy I had to take a break.”

Let that sink in.

She had to rest her feet while driving because her feet were tired from holding up her sandals.

As it turns out, these sandals weigh a pound.

A POUND.

Cute? Absolutely.

Practical? Apparently not.

And as cute as they were, they were literally weighing her down.

Such is life...

If we reflect on our lives, hindsight often makes it easier to recognize the things we refused to put down even when carrying them was making our journey harder.

Sometimes it's actual stuff.

But sometimes it's a relationship we've outgrown.

A job that hasn't made us happy in years.

A friendship we keep trying to save long after it stopped being a friendship.

An expectation of what our life was supposed to look like.

An old hurt we keep carrying because putting it down somehow feels like saying what happened didn't matter.

Guilt.

Regret.

Resentment.

Fear.

Sometimes we carry things for so long that we forget we're even carrying them.

They simply become part of the baggage.

And isn't it funny how much easier it is to recognize someone else's unnecessary baggage?

Standing beside a suitcase, I could easily tell my trip wifey, “Girl, you do NOT need that.”

Yet when it comes to our own lives, we can find a hundred reasons why we can't possibly leave something behind.

I've had it too long.

What if I need it?

What if I regret letting it go?

What will people think?

What if there isn't anything better waiting for me?

So we shove it back into the suitcase, sit on top of it until the zipper closes, and drag it along with us.

And then we wonder why we're so tired.

Maybe there comes a point when we have to stop asking whether we can carry something and start asking whether it's worth the weight.

Because just because you can carry it doesn't mean you should.

There are places we're trying to go that may require us to travel a little lighter.

Maybe it's time to open the suitcase.

Take inventory.

And be honest about what's worth carrying into the next chapter and what has already served its purpose.

Some things were meant for another season.

Some people were meant for another chapter.

Some hurts taught us what they were supposed to teach us.

And some really cute shoes just need to stay home.

Maybe letting go isn't always about losing something.

Maybe sometimes it's simply making room for where you're going next.

So here's a little front porch thought for today:

What are you carrying simply because you've gotten used to the weight?

Maybe it's time to put it down.

After all, life's too short to spend the whole trip resting your feet because your shoes are too dang heavy.

Magnolias here is some inspiration from the front porch. If the load you've been carrying has gotten too heavy and deep down you know it's time to unload some dead weight, here's your sign. Don't go another day carrying something that's holding you back.

Put it down. Lighten the load. And keep moving forward.

Bless Your Heart,

💕 Magnolia Grace