A few months ago I wrote about the occasional panic that rolls over me when I’m staring at a blank computer screen and a column deadline is closing in on me.
Well, here I am again with a deadline looming and my brain cells apparently scattered to the wind. This time, the brain fog rolled in with a kazillion boxes when we moved a few days ago.
I’m surrounded by chaos right now, and I don’t like chaos. It squeezes my nerves and makes me cranky, obsessive and tired.
Yeah, okay, I remember writing very recently about how I wasn’t going to whine about anything related to building our house. I remember, so don’t remind me (see—I told you this was making me cranky). But I’m not technically complaining about my house here—I’m griping about getting moved into my house.
I love the house; I just don’t love packing, hauling, unpacking, or searching for lost stuff. Moving isn’t for sissies.
Moving stories are like birthing stories—when you have one to tell, you feel compelled to tell it. So I’ve heard many moving stories recently. Things like, “My husband and I have moved 19 times in 30 years.”
I look at these people like they just told me they jogged up Mt. Everest without a coat or shoes.
How does anyone survive that many moves?
I’ve been blessed to move relatively few times in my married life, which could be one reason I’m still married. Sitting here surrounded by chaos and thankful to have a cup of coffee, my laptop and an internet connection, I simply cannot imagine turning my life upside down like this very often.
But since the name of this column is “Live and Learn,” I am determined to learn as I live through this. And here are a few things I’m learning …
- Never say “never.” I declared 20 years ago that I’d never move again. I was wrong. Our roots in this earth should never be so deep that God can’t dig us up and replant us.
- Near the end of his life, the Apostle Paul asked his protégé Timothy to bring to him some of his treasured possessions, including his books. I’m guessing Timothy didn’t have to rent a U-Haul to deliver those books. I, on the other hand, have been opening boxes of books for three days now. If the writer of a big chunk of the New Testament needed just a few books, I’m pretty sure I’ve got way too many. I think I need to devote the vast majority of my reading time to THE book, the Bible. That’s where the best stuff is.
- An incredible army of volunteers from our church helped us on moving day. At one point, there were 20 cars parked in our pasture, I hear. These friends smiled, laughed, encouraged, organized, hauled and toted … and once again made me realize there is no better place to be in this world than among true believers in Jesus Christ. So many times they have been His hands and shown us His heart.
- I told a friend on moving day that Jesus needs to come back or take me home before I ever move again. He smiled and said, “Yeah, and when that happens, you won’t have to take any of this stuff with you.” God has been preparing my eternal home for thousands of years and it will come fully furnished. Not a single box to unpack. Amen and woo hoo!
Wow—I’m so grateful to be His.
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” – Jesus Christ (John 14:3)