It’s the new year, and yes, I’m trying to lose a few pounds. Maybe that’s why I’m recalling Oprah pulling a wagon of fat on stage. It was disgusting. The fat in the wagon weighed the equivalent to the amount of weight she had lost (this was a few “diets” ago). Oprah struggled to pull the heavy-laden wagon across stage and the image burned in my brain. Lugging around all that weight takes a toll on every part of life.

I’ve got a few extra pounds in my wagon, but that’s not all that’s weighing me down and making it difficult to run the race of life.

In the Bible God encourages us to: “…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.” (Hebrews 12:1b) NLT Discover God Study Bible

I wonder what my wagon would look like if I added all the things that weigh me down? Worry, anxious thoughts, fear for the future, jealousy, inadequacy…I think it would be more than disgusting! These heavy burdens were birthed from a flawed view of God, and the only way to truly lighten my wagon is to focus on who God really is.

Dear Oprah has taken the fat in and out of her wagon so many times it’s hard to keep track. No one knows better than she how damaging it is to her body and yet she keeps putting the pounds back in the wagon. Isn’t it the same with all of us? The older we get the more we acknowledge the damage our excess “baggage” causes and yet we don’t let it go once and for all.

What’s in your wagon? Will you join with me in filtering it all through the reality of who God really is and then let it go…now and forever? When it threatens to get back in your wagon, don’t let it! Follow God’s advice for running the race:

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2a)NLT Discover God Study Bible