All of this said, I have learned to enjoy moving. Moving gives me the chance to go through my things and ask myself if I really need to keep it. It gives me a very tangible reminder that nothing on this earth is truly permanent. Moving reminds me that my home isn't anywhere on this Earth, and that I will only truly be home when I'm with Jesus in heaven.
Moving also allows me to experience new things. Things like a new language, a new community, a new culture, cooking for myself, cooking for others, meeting new people, or finding a new church.
Moving has meant that I have to remove some things from my life in order to experience the new things that are coming into my life. I have had to get rid of physical items or leave a community of people that I've loved.
Much of life is about changing and growing through the changes. Much like the changes that I've experienced in my moves, in order to fully experience the growth through the change, I have to be willing to allow God to take what I may perceive as good so that I can experience the new blessings. I loved living in an apartment by myself during my sophomore year of college, but without leaving that cozy comfort zone, I would not have the opportunity to live with 32 other women who are doing their best to live Christ-centered lives.
While in the nursery at my church today, I witnessed a child holding onto one toy while attempting to play with another. He was making twice as many trips to pick up and move toys because he couldn't use both hands. This lead to an inability to fully enjoy the new toy, because he wasn't dropping the old one. In life, I find myself struggling like this child. I want to embrace God's blessings, but I don't want to let go of what I think is already good enough.
As I grow and experience change, I need to be open to discover where God is pointing me each and every moment. I should be letting God weed the things out of my life that are preventing me from enjoying his true blessings for my life. I need to remember that his wisdom is much more profound than my own. As I struggle to hold onto one toy, I am not able to fully embrace the blessing that he is trying to give me. I must be willing to have Him put something better into both of my hands, even if that means Him removing something else from my childish hands.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3: 13-14
Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo,
Jo
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