I love to travel but I have never been able to travel light. Wherever I’m going, I pack for every possibility: heat, cold, rain, sun, dressy, casual, multiple pairs of shoes and clothes for all occasions. (Those people who go away for a week and take only a small backpack? I don’t get them!) Ask anyone in our family – if   we are loading luggage in the car, mine is always the heaviest. And the result? Wherever we’re going, I end up being weighed down by a lot of unnecessary things – things I should have never carried.

It’s not just true in travel, but in our lives, isn’t it? We journey through our days being weighed down by burdens we weren’t meant to carry. So, this image of ‘traveling light’ is a good one for us to consider as we enter a new year.

First – as we begin 2024, hopefully we’ve all had time to consider this past year – to take a 36,000-foot view of all that’s happened and give thanks to God for His faithfulness – both personally and as a part of Christ Church.

Think about it… this time last year, as a church, things were rocky at best. There was uncertainty and no clear path forward. Frankly, it was grim. But fast-forward to the present and look at what God has done, including bringing Genesis into its own and starting this new thing called Christ Church!

What a ride, what a journey! And God has been faithful, outpacing every expectation we’ve had along the way. Every step, we have seen God do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV). Thanks be to God for His abundant blessings in Jesus Christ!

And beyond Christ Church, there are other places in our lives where we can clearly see God’s hand and His faithful leading.

So now, as we turn the page to 2024, our journey continues, both personally and as a church. And the question is… What would it look like to ‘travel light’ – to allow God to carry our burdens and worries and all that weighs us down? It’s not a bad New Year’s resolution.

We know there will be challenges, don’t we? But we must remember that we worship a Savior who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” What would it look like let go of our fears and doubts and worries, and walk in the confidence of “Emmanuel – God with us”?

Years ago, Max Lucado wrote the book, “Traveling Light,” (which will be the first book I read this year).  In it, he suggests Psalm 23 as a great guide for us. Too often, we connect Psalm 23 with funerals and death. But it’s really a song of abundant life – of laying down burdens and trusting the Lord in every circumstance and season.  

I’ll be praying and meditating on Psalm 23 every day as the year begins. And I invite you to join me in holding loosely to all that weighs us down, and trusting our Good Shepherd who gives us everything we need (Psalm 23:1).

And as the Lord leads us into 2024, may we, in deeper and greater ways, grow to love Christ and to love like Christ!