Lessons Learned from Moving

Jim and I helped our daughter and her children move a couple of weeks ago to a new (to them) house (see last Thursday’s Legacy post). We had several days of hard work, but nothing from which we couldn’t recuperate. She had hired movers to take care of the heavy furniture so we thought there wouldn’t be much for us to do.

Before a move, as you sit and look at your belongings in the house, you really don’t think it will be that hard – especially if strong men with a big truck are coming to lift the big stuff!

And then you begin opening the clothes closets, the kitchen cabinets and the pantry, the laundry room cleaning closet, and linen closets, and coat closets, and … before you know it, you have more than you could have imagined in your wildest dream. All of those things that have been behind closed doors suddenly seem overwhelming.

After we returned home, I began to think about lessons I could learn from this experience. I want to share just a few of them with you.

• God has blessed all of us materially. We ALL have way too much stuff! I spent some time in prayer thanking Him for what we have, and asking Him to help me fully understand that I need to share what I have with others and give to those who are in need.
• We need to keep in touch mentally with what we have hidden away in those closets and pantries. The old phrase, “out of sight, out of mind,” is so very true!
• I need to have a better understanding of “needs vs. wants.” As I go through my possessions with which God has blessed me, do a really need them or do I just want them?

But those lessons are about material possessions. As I spent time thinking about what I have, I began to think about what I have stored inside of my mind. There are times when my mind is so very much like those closets which contain things I don’t even need or want!

Here are some questions I asked myself concerning what I have stored in my mind:

• Is my mind filled with God’s word so I can be ready to help others, or is it filled with earthly things I have seen on social media or television?
• Is my mind filled with the wrongs and hurts that someone may have done to me, or is it filled with thoughts of how I can help that person and restore that precious relationship?
• Is my mind cluttered with all of the things I have to do of a worldly nature, or is it focused on Jesus and what I need to be doing for Him?
• Am I full of anger and disgust for what is happening in our world right now (covid, politics, finances, etc.) and allowing that to bleed out into everything I say and do, or do I combat those feelings and actions by shining God’s light and trusting Him to handle the wrongs?
• Do I constantly think only about myself and how I am affected by what is going on around me, or do I reach out to others and let them know they are important to God and to me?

Moving is hard!! Changing from one place to another is hard work, but the blessing of getting rid of the excess, and finding a place for only the things you need, can be so helpful.

More importantly, cleaning out your mind of those things that only drag you down and make you less productive, can also be very helpful to feeling better and acting better.

I know there are some painful things in life that can never be forgotten (deep hurts from family members, the loss of a loved one, etc.), but I’m going to work on placing those things in God’s hands and move on with a happier better self.  Won’t you join me?

“…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:8-9)

Receive every article for free:

AUTHOR: Donna Faughn