“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Col 3:12-14 NIV)
“Bessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding” (Prov 3:13 NIV)
I helped my daughter move into her college dorm recently. She took a little teasing from her old Dad about all the boxes and suitcases she brought. I thought she had packed way too much stuff, but then I saw what the girl down the hall had brought. I guess my girl was traveling light, after all. I knew, though, that she had already packed every essential thing for this next great adventure in her life. It was just packed in her heart, soul, and mind.
It is what we pack on the inside not the outside that really determines how well we live. If we pack love in our hearts then our days become filled with happiness. If we pack wisdom in our minds then our lives become full of goodness. If we pack joy in our souls then we make the whole world better. The nice thing about this type of packing too is that there is always room for more. The more we love the larger our heart grows. The more we learn the greater our mind expands. The more joy we share the bigger our soul becomes.
You don’t need a U-Haul to carry around what is essential for a wonderful life. You don’t need any storage lockers to hold what brings you great joy. All you have to do is pack yourself full of the treasures of Heaven. Then you can travel light and share your wealth of love with everyone you meet. Then you can face everything that life throws at you and use it all to become better and to help others as well. Then you really can “take it with you” because what we learned and how we loved are the only things that will go with us into the greater life after this.
I hope that you pack well then for all the adventures to come in this life and in the next. I hope that you fill yourself full to overflowing with love, joy, wisdom, light, and oneness with God. Remember all the things you own in this life will one day turn to dust, but what you carry inside of yourself will live on forever.
By: Joseph J. Mazzella