In the youth section of our church bulletin, Skid shared part of a passage Kyle McCabe had journaled as a response to the idea of "baggage claim" during our quiet time on the spring retreat:

"As people, we naturally stand in line waiting to pick up our bags of guilt, fear, doubt, and sin. . . but while we're in line waiting for what is ours a stranger quietly walks to the front. At first no one notices him as he seems to be just one more man in the line, then something raises everyone's eyebrows at once. With his back to the crowd, the man raises a hand to shut off the conveyer belt. As his hand raises, the people catch a glimpse of the sunset through a hole in this man's hand. Then, with a sky of red and orange aflame behind him, he faces the crowd for the first time. He crowd takes notice of his haggard appearance and tear stained eyes. The path he walked to the front is a trail of blood and tears. 'Enough,' he yells of the murmurs. 'I have paid with all my blood, all my tears, and all my life.' A few people take this man at his word and leave the place and walk through the automatic sliding doors to find a new day of endless possibility instead of the impending night faced by those inside. . . all because they took the steos and said yes to this stranger. Yet the vast majority, those who profess belief and want so badly to have the courage to take the chance and those who coudn't care less about the battered and his words. . . remain. The man's eyes plead with them to leave the place. As a tear begins to roll down his cheek, in a wavering voice just above a whisper, he addresses all who have claimed belief, but are still there with a single question:'Why do you remain?'"

-Kyle McCabe, March 2005