Baggage...

“Forgiveness does not mean excusing.” - C.S. Lewis

I noticed eHarmony is running a special this week. If you sign up now, not only will you get to review your matches for free, but they'll also throw in all your potential mate's baggage...

Used that joke a few times with little response, but the idea of baggage makes everyone cringe. We all want to meet someone who "has it all together", if that's even possible. Imagine scouring the earth to find that individual who agrees with you on every issue, is responsible enough to do everything right in every situation and have all of their emotions balanced to go off whenever the correct situation calls for them. Frankly, I don't believe it's possible. EVERYONE HAS BAGGAGE!!!

The difference is, how you handle it. Some choose to focus all of it on to someone else's flaws, and act like their own don't exist. Some choose to embrace their baggage and joke about it (often I take that approach.) Others might isolate themselves so that the disease as they view it, of anger, that penetrates their own perception will not spread to anyone else.

While I wish I didn't have baggage, it's totally fine because what happened to me up to this point has determined the person I am now. There's an old saying I actually heard from my Mom. "A situation can either make you bitter or better..." You don't have to take something meant to be a personal attack, personal. It's how you act when you're back is to the wall, which many people, myself included have reacted hastily in the past. Emotions can channel out in many ways. Eating an abundance is one of them, and one that's definitely affected me. So with all this said, I encourage you to forgive others and move on. Don't let the situation make you worse. Know that everyone has baggage, but it's what you do with it that matters.

God Bless!

Rich Jones
www.richjonescomedy.com

Isaiah 1:16-17 - “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”