Traveling Light Brochure
 

Not so long ago, Terrie and I were standing at an international airport check-in counter where they weigh your bags before your flight. We were on our return trip, which meant that we had had our entire journey to accumulate more stuff—a fact the scale at the counter didn’t miss. It turned out that we had accumulated a lot more than we started with. We thought maybe we could shift the extra luggage between our bags, so the airline attendant directed us to a large metal table—there in front of everyone waiting in line—where we could rearrange our luggage. We did, and then weighed it again…and it was still overweight. The only difference was that now it wasn’t just one bag that was overweight but two. With just forty-five minutes left before our flight would leave, I had to run to a souvenir shop, pay an arm and a leg for an extra suitcase, and run back to Terrie to once again repack our belongings in front of a single file, winding audience. Sometimes more isn’t better. Actually, lots of times more isn’t better. This can be particularly true when it comes to the emotional luggage we accumulate in our relationships. So, what should we do when we realize we have way too much relational baggage?