As women we are collectors of bags. If you are like my mother and aunt then every time you shop for a garment you also have to purchase a purse, pocket book, clutch, or something from the bag family to go with it. This means that you have collected quite a few bags over the years. What I hate the most about bags is they do not easily fit into your closet, some are small and others are bulky, not so easy to hang or sit neatly on a shelf. It is the same as carrying the proverbial baggage of life. Past mistakes, unresolved grievances, wrong doings, mistrust, and criticisms all these things piled up begin to weigh us down and it becomes a challenge to even move.
Critical Coach
I went through all of my bags and some were hard to let go. The Critical Coach bag, with it's timeless classical design, skin thick as leather, almost every woman has this bag in her closet and although the style might be outdated we still stick it back in the closet. Criticism can pick away at the fiber of a person, pulling strand by strand every positive thread until there is nothing left. Whether we are the ones dishing it out or receiving it, either way it is toxic and to heavy to carry around. Getting rid of the critical coach bag is hard but with deliberate practice you can start to see more of the good rather than just focusing on the bad.
Guilt Carrying Gucci
Then there is Guilt Carrying Gucci. Just like the new stylish Gucci purses guilt can be an oversized useless emotion. You walk around punishing yourself or someone else for something that happend fifty years ago. Nobody wins with guilt, being shackled and chained to this bag can cause stagnation and depression.
Prideful Prada
They say pride comes before a fall. Well, this bag is sure to make you loose relationship points. You know the type, refuses to admit when they are wrong, can never ask for help when they need it. Prideful Prada is always trying to maintain a front of perfection, which by the way is impossible. I know this bag all to well, it was my old faithful. I carried it everywhere. I wore it as a shield of protection and it didn't do anything but push people away that really cared about me.
Doubtful DKNY
Have you ever known someone who expects everything to always go wrong, just full of doubt. It says in the good book without faith it is impossible to please God. This bag will repel not only people from you but your blessings as well. Doubtful DKNY is like a self fulfilling prophesy, if you keep on saying it is not going to happen--THEN IT AIN"T. The funny thing about this bag is you can't fit anything in it but doubt. There is no room for joy, happiness, blessings, just a small tube of doubt.
Mad Marc
We all have a friend like this, they are always in a rage, huffing and puffing about something. You know the one quick to curse somebody out. Mad Marc is a dangerous bag and can either land you in jail or in the hospital. Ditch this bag ASAP or seek counseling. The bottom line is if you are always mad then you will never be able to experience happiness. Unfortunately, this bag seems to be a badge of honor. Today's reality shows spot light angry, cursing, fist fighting ladies. A big old grown woman stomping around like a child is not cute, it's ridiculous. Beauty illuminates from the inside out and if all you are is a ball of anger on the inside, eventually you will illuminate ugliness.
The new year is approaching swiftly and it is time to get rid of some those bags that have been hindering us for so long. I know I am learning to pack only the essentials; faith, peace, joy, and wisdom. Honestly, I do not have room for anything else. So as Ericka Badou would say, "pack light".
Watch the video Bag Lady by Ericka Badu; it can help remind you why you should pack light.
The images of the purses are not literal representations of the emotions.
For the Bread of God is He Who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world
Have you ever seen your life flash before your eyes or been so close to loosing everything? I have. A routine surgery almost turned deadly for me. I had two wisdom teeth abstracted from the upper part of my mouth. I left the dentist office with the normal side effects of such a surgery, swelling, pain, and a little bleeding. As the days progressed things increasingly became worse. Infection set in and spread from my throat to my temples, causing large pockets of bacteria to form inside my mouth. My face enlarged almost twice its size. I knew something was wrong and called the dentist office back. The nurse asked me a series of questions and then said they needed me to come back to the dentist office as soon as I could. I was scheduled to go in the following day and until then I was to take antibiotics called in by the doctor. The pain intensified and the swelling increased, I couldn't close my mouth.
Tears streamed down my face soaking the front of my t-shirt. As I muttered the words JESUS, I couldn't do anything at the time but stay in continuous prayer. I heard a faint whisper, three simple words as I struggled to maintain my breathing, "bread-of-life". Immediately I began to thank him for healing. As each "thank you" escaped from swollen lips I could feel my cheeks return more and more to their normal size. The rules of this world tells us to rely on our careers, money, material possession, and people. Often times we feel if we don't have an abundance of these things then we don't have security. Today's economic climate is changing our perception of security. Now financial advisers are saying not to consider your house as an asset anymore The turbulent job market decreases the value of careers we have invested time and money in. It makes you wonder why do we continue to rely on these temporal things.
I learned a life changing lesson this week, that life is fleeting and that I have to anchor my soul to something eternal. I have to believe, cleave, trust, and rely on something bigger than life, the bread of life.
