Lightening the Load {Lessons from the trail}

It was Aunt Jeannette who had to leave her harmonium behind. (Yes, I had to google harmonium to see what it was.) They had come to the Blue Mountain range, their final mountain pass before reaching Oregon territory. Many had already been forced to abandon their wagons, as wheels and axles had broken. Trunks had already abandoned, extra supplies tossed aside. Many brave pioneers had already lost their lives.

But in this final stretch, in order to cross the mountain range, all had to lighten their loads. 

I can only imagine there was sorrow mixed with excitement. On the one hand, they were near their final destination. On the other hand, they had to leave behind almost all their earthly possessions in order to climb the final mountain pass and reach their as yet unseen Home. It was must have been scary: Is this enough food to last? Will we be able to replace these items when we arrive? How did they know what to take and what to leave behind? They couldn’t have known for sure, but they knew one thing: They had to significantly lighten their loads in order to survive.

Only what was absolutely necessary for the journey was to be kept. 

Friends, I have been praying much this trip and asking God to speak to us, not just generic feel-good lessons, but messages from Him. What does He want us to know? I believe this is one that He wants us to know:

We are in the final days of our journey.

No, I’m not some end-times alarmist here to tell you the world is ending tomorrow. But we are living in the last days, that is for sure, and even as Jesus walked this earth He exhorted us again and again to live as in the last days. He taught us that His return was imminent. He taught us to keep our candles lit, to continue watching and waiting and remember, We have not yet arrived.

To the man who built bigger barns, to hold more and more of this stuff, God said, “You fool!” While the man gathered up more and more stuff, he was completely unaware that his end was just around the corner.

So what am I saying? Am I saying we can’t have roomy houses, take vacations, or have two cars? No, not at all. But I do believe there is a message for us: Lighten our Loads.

I have seen beautiful examples of this. My brother’s family and another family moving in together, permanently, to live in community and share resources, freeing up more to give. That’s lightening their load. A dear young couple I know who is selling their too-much home and getting freed from the weight of debt in order to live simply and generously. That’s lightening their load. Dear friends of ours who left a grueling career lifestyle in order to change vocations and spend more time with family and serving others. That’s lightening their load.

Lightening our load is simply tossing aside what isn’t helping us along the life of faith. Any extra weight. Hebrews 12:1 says it like this:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

This morning at 6am we embarked on the final leg of our Oregon Trail journey: Utah to Portland. Our large bag of snacks, once full, is not nearly empty. Only a few water bottles remain. We are near the glorious end of our adventure.

We just don’t need much anymore. 

What, dear friends, might be slowing you down? What might be an added weight? A sin that trips us up or even a good thing that’s just unnecessary. Only the Holy Spirit can speak individually to our hearts and pinpoint what He wants us to lay aside for our final leg of the journey. Though it be scary, it is also exciting … for it enables us to travel this final stretch unencumbered.

{I can almost hear the ocean. Can you? What might God want you to lay side today? Praying for grace for you as we travel our final  800 miles. Thanks for journeying with us. We’ll finish tomorrow. Thanks for reading.}