Dragging that Deadly Bag

In several African countries young boys have been recruited by rebels to fight as soldiers, who then shot their way through one village after another, usually hopped up on fear and drugs. One boy who escaped that life described running from his village to escape the rebel “recruiters”:

“One boy to cross the clearing was too slow, because he carried a big bag of things he had gathered from his house. As a result, the rebels who were on guard in the little tower saw him and opened fire as they ran toward us. We whispered to the boy, “Drop the bag and hurry. The rebels are coming.” But the boy didn’t listen. As we ran away, I saw him pulling on the bag, which was stuck between tree stumps in the clearing. We ran as fast as we could until we lost the rebels and made it to the first village. We never saw the boy again.” A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah.

How many of us are slowed down and eventually dragged to our deaths by a bag of “things”—fear, anger, excuses, victimhood, addictions, and more—when all we have to do is let the bag go. Drop the bag now. It’s not too late.