Today, we take time to have a look at what we are “carrying” with us in life. The backpack is a picture to help you bring your whole life before God in prayer.
Before beginning your retreat time, please print out a full-page hard copy of the backpack using the PDF below, so you can write on it.
Pack Your Backpack
First begin by “packing” your backpack — write down on the backpack drawing what you are carrying with you right now in life.
- Some things may be small, fitting in a little pocket. Other items may be very large.
- Some parts of your life may feel heavy and are weighing you down. Some things you are carrying may even feel unbearable, threatening to crush you.
- You may discover things you carry with you that you like, things that you are quite ready to carry and are important to you, things that bring you joy.
Weigh Your Backpack
After you have “packed” everything into your backpack, take a good look at it and feel its weight. Pause long enough that you recognize some of your feelings and heart reactions as you consider all that is in your life backpack right now.
Take some time to journal: how does this activity make you feel, what does it bring to mind? What is your response or reaction?
Entrust Your Backpack
Take some time to talk with God about the contents of your backpack. Don’t rush. God already knows everything in your backpack, even things you don’t realize are there. Talk to Him about what you’re carrying, as well as your feelings about it.
Close with a few minutes of dwelling on and praying through one of the following short passages:
Isaiah 46:3-4 – God will carry and will save
Micah 7:18-19 – God will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea
1 Peter 5:6-7 – cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you
Group Option
While this activity by its nature is for reflecting on your own life, there are ways to include more interaction and community in the process. Here are a few possibilities that could be done in small groups (2 to 6 people).
Before writing on your backpack, brainstorm as a small group some of the things that people are individually carrying with them in their lives right now. Any items that seem relevant to you, write down to the side to use later. Don’t get sidetracked into talking about any item in depth. The goal of this time is to brainstorm together aspects of life that you may not have thought of on your own. This step might take 5 to 10 minutes.
Individually work on your own backpack and journal about it as instructed above.
After you have had time to journal, come back to the small group for a time to share. Seek to listen well not only to what is in others backpacks, but also to how they feel about the things they are carrying. Make sure to give everyone an opportunity to share.
After sharing, you could take a little more time to journal individually if you have new insights on your own backpack.
The “Entrust” step at the end of this activity could be done individually or in small groups, whichever is more helpful. If in small groups, have each person pray about their own backpack — talking to God about what is in their backpack and how they feel about it. Close your time together by choosing one of Scripture passages listed, reading it aloud, and praying through it as a group.