I have moved six times in my life. This week, on Labor Day weekend ironically, I will begin my seventh. In every single one of those moves I am reminded of how much I hate moving.
It means desperately searching for boxes. It means gathering all your earthly possessions and putting them into those boxes. It means trying to remember to notify every company and person you can think of about your new address. It means testing the level of your friendships by asking other people to help you. It means selling and donating all the things that you have but don’t really want to move. It means unpacking, re-sorting, and trying to resettle. The phrase “Where is the …. “ becomes a common utterance. And when all that is done, you finally begin to enjoy the new place you call home….for now.
Moving is a part of life. We move from one home to another. We move from one stage to another. We move from one relationship to another. Some of those moves are voluntary and some are not. Some of them are for the better and others for the worse. Moving is change and change is a part of life.
Moving is also an inevitability. Even in the rare case that you live in the house you were born in, eventually, you will move.
Someday, we will move out of the home we are moving into. I pray it isn’t for at least 30 years, but who knows? I do know that eventually the Leverings will be leaving that home. It may be because we find a new home. It may be because it’s time for a nursing home. Or it may be that we step into our eternal home. (…well, that escalated quickly!) But, we will be leaving.
Every home in this world is temporary. The world itself is just a temporary place.
Peter, reminds us that we are ”foreigners and exiles” in this world. In Hebrews, we are reminded, “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come…”
Moving is never fun. But, it’s part of the journey—taking us from where we are to where we’re going. On your journey, keep your eyes on the prize and keep pressing forward to your eternal home.
Until then, wherever you are, don’t get too attached.