I have a bag. My bag. It is, officially, a monogrammed - because my wife is nice like that - Land's End Square Rigger Attache. Functional with just the right type of interior pockets. Comfortable with soft handles, a wide shoulder strap, a big zipper & oversized zipper pulls. Durable with heavy cotton canvas construction. Faded with years of service. Raggedy with... There. I said it.

My bag doesn't just look worn out anymore. It is worn out. In my hand are some thick cotton threads. And, as you can see, the threads aren't part of the handle anymore. These poor threads are now unattached. They came off. My bag is starting to fall apart. My bag is beginning to wear out. My bag is becoming raggedy.

Forlorn from thread removal, I conducted an inspection of the entire bag. Sadly, I must report that handle issues are not alone. The big zipper is failing on the lower left corner. There are holes wearing through the canvas at multiple spots on all four - or is that eight - corners. And, as you can see, it just looks worn out too.

This is beginning of the end for my trusty old black - now brownish - bag. Some day, maybe sooner than I'd like, it will be retired. Maybe even trashed. The zipper will completely fail. One of the many small holes will catch & tear. And you know the story: the repair will cost more than a new bag & there you have it.

Does my bag have you thinking about yourself? Someone you know? Something you own? Some activity you do? Asking the same questions & thinking the same thoughts that accompany about the beginning of the end? And what about your acceptance of what you see in front of you? Faded, worn, thread-bare?

When is it time to hold on? When is it time to move on?

God, give us discernment to know. Give us courage to act.

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6