To Switzerland, Lightly!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” *

Al and I have booked a tour of Switzerland at least three times in past years and have had to cancel due to various surgeries or other health problems. How disappointing to see the “Splendors of Switzerland by Rail” passing us by year after year!

 In the spring of 2019, Al arranged for the same trip again leaving on the 28^th of August. Although it seemed like there was a long time to wait until our departure date, when a packet of information recently arrived in the mailbox along with tags for luggage and printed name tags, the reality of our going to Switzerland began to sink in. Where did the time go?

 I began to feel some anxiety, especially when looking at the list of suggested things to take. “Travel lightly” was emphasized for the participants. Travel lightly? That would be a big challenge for a sixteen day vacation.

Two large suitcases and one smaller carry-on piece of luggage were barely sufficient in previous trips for the same number of days. In addition, I liked to carry my oversized purse, the computer case and a jacket along with other last-minute things, like snacks and a water bottle.

However, this time we would be traveling on trains and would need to have both hands free to make boarding and deboarding easier. The recommendation was to take a small suitcase with wheels and carry a backpack. That was it!

 My friend JoAnn reassured me that this was the way she and her husband had traveled in the past in Europe and that it worked out just fine for them. But no purse? The travel brochure strongly recommended leaving purses behind, putting all necessary items in the back pack.

Out of all of the instructions, that one grated against me the most. I tried rationalizing why it would be okay to take a small handbag, the same one that accompanied me to Scandinavia last summer. It didn’t take up much room and was convenient to carry.

Finally, I conceded and decided against taking it, in order to be compliant with what they were asking us to do. But when I started the packing process, I got the aforementioned purse out anyway. Why not? It wasn’t that big of a deal was it?

Of course, there was the time when I got up from the table at a restaurant in Finland and walked with our group back to the hotel before realizing that the purse was not draped around my shoulder as usual. Uh oh! I stopped abruptly, explained what had happened to Al, wheeled around and walked as fast as possible back to the restaurant.

My credit cards, passport and driver’s license were in that handbag.

When I inquired about it at the hostess’ table with a note of panic in my voice, she went back behind the bar and came out carrying it. What a relief! Thank you, Lord! Someone had told me that the Finnish were very honest people, which they proved to be.

Did I really want to go through all of that again? Maybe my passport and other valuables should be worn in a holder around my neck and the purse should stay home. I ended up putting it away after all and continued the packing process with the resolve to keep our luggage as light weight as possible.

At one point during our former backpacking days, Al decided to buy a new pack. He ended up choosing one that was larger than his former backpack. By the time he had filled it to capacity with all of his supplies, it weighed 75 pounds! And still he carried it! Oh my! 

Not only are we humans prone to stuffing large suitcases, backpacks and purses to overflowing, we sometimes carry heavy spiritual burdens on our journeys—regrets, problems, issues of guilt, bad habits…things we wish we could leave behind. Jesus calls us to find rest in Him and deliverance from all of our burdens.

Are you traveling lightly? Why not trust Him to carry those burdens for you? It’s a hard offer to refuse!

*Matthew 11:28-30 NIV