20 Kilograms

Usually when I fly to or from the U.S., I am allowed to travel with two checked bags, each of which can carry 23 kilograms (50 pounds) of weight. My flight home was a bit different this time, however, because it was composed of two separate bookings with Beijing as the intermediary city. I came to find out that it is only international flights to and from North America which are so generous as to allow 23 kilograms per checked bag for economy seats. Since I was actually flying Asia-Asia before my separate booking of Asia-North America, the amount of luggage I could bring home was limited to just 20 kilograms (44 pounds) TOTAL -- less than half the weight which I could generally carry.

At first I didn't know how it would be possible to limit myself to such a piddly amount of cargo. However, as I reevaluated my situation, I realized that there was very little I actually needed to take with me -- I could live quite comfortably with the things I still had back at home. Instead of looking at all the stuff in my possession as the starting point for travel, I switched my perspective to asking myself what was actually important to take with me.

As I put into my suitcase all my travel necessities and the pile of gifts and goodies to take back home, I soon discovered that I had an abundance of room to spare. In fact, I would need to fill my suitcase more in order to protect some of the more fragile items in my suitcase from bouncing around too much in the open space! When it was all said and done, I only found 14.6 kilograms of stuff that would make it home with me -- not even three-quarters of the "piddly" 20 kilogram limit.It's amazing the abundance you'll find when coming from a perspective that looks at what's really necessary and important. It reminds me of the words from Scripture where Jesus said to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

This "summer" break (although summer may be approaching in Thailand, I still see some snow on the ground here in Wisconsin!), I want to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness. Even more than sharing time with family and friends. Even more than taking a break from academic rigors. Even more than getting fresh air and exercise. I trust God's promise that as I seek Him first, all these other good things will come as well. And I'm sure I'll be pleasantly surprised just how abundantly his supply of grace will provide for me -- far more than 20 kilograms worth.

Peace,
Eric