When was the last time you moved? I would be embarrassed to admit how many times I have moved. Do not get me wrong; I am not whining. It is just my reality. Church planting is an adventure that has taken me places. I’ve told Jamie (my husband) many times that I can’t ever complain that he never took me anywhere. We started on our journey in Kalemie, Zaire (now DRC), and have planted churches in Burundi, Zambia, Malawi, DRC, Mozambique, and most recently, Uganda (where someone from our team will plant instead of us). Most recently, our quest has landed me in Pretoria, South Africa.
Guts and no glory
Moving takes guts. And there’s no glory involved. No one will be cheering for you because you packed your silverware well or because you managed to wash all your laundry before the last box was loaded into the truck. I learned early on to liquidate everything that wasn’t important to me. The magic number of boxes, suitcases, and trunks combined varies. However, in most moves, I’ve been able to boil things down to 13 pieces. When there were five of us, before bonus baby number four came, we could handle 13 pieces without too much fanfare. Now that the original three have flown the coop, our smaller team of three is responsible for handling those 13 pieces.
Creativity and Samsonite
Moving also takes creativity. I remember when we moved to Lusaka, Zambia. The house we rented had no furniture. For days, we used our empty boxes and suitcases as tables. We ate many candlelight dinners with Samsonite luggage as our host. Those candlelight dinners weren’t the romantic kind. The power was off, and we didn’t have any backup lanterns. The candles worked just fine.
Flexibility meets Gumby
Finally, moving takes flexibility. My father-in-law and mother-in-law visited us on several occasions over the years (the grandkids were the major pull). After seeing all we went through to live in foreign cultures, my father-in-law said to Jamie, “The key, son, is flexibility.” Moving from house to house takes some flexibility. But moving from country to country takes you to another level of flexibility, not to mention what it’s like to move continents. At this point, I’m so flexible that I feel as if I can bend over backwards twice over (like Gumby for those of you who remember).
They say moving is one of the five most stressful life events to encounter. To sum it up, we’ve needed copious amounts of God’s grace to get to this place in our lives. But I do hope (I am not whining, though) that our Pretoria move is our last big move. 🙏🏼
The last time and no whining
"...Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. Who are you, O great mountain?...You shall become a plain...'Grace, grace, to it!" Zechariah 4:6,7 ESV
Grace is what God does when we allow Him to work in our lives. Grace gives us the ability to do what God has called us to do. And grace is what brings the mountain down. God’s grace isn’t a weak characteristic. Grace is the power to do the right thing when circumstances are wrong. Grace is the gift of God to us (see Eph. 2:8), and grace enables us to make it through life’s most difficult moments.
So, when was the last time that you moved? I hope that you’re not whining.
The last time we moved was hilarious. We moved across the street of a major road called Jog Road. We literally moved from one development to another which was located across the street. What was so funny is that you would think that short move made it easier but we still had to do all the packing and preparation and to hire the truck which cost about the same as if we had moved across town. We bought a house and it was our first home we owned. Many years later, 22 years to be exact, we are still here and we thank God for our lovely home. We love it! We have plenty of space for ourselves and and more than enough. We especially love the lake and back yard which creates such a lovely view from the moment our guests come in the house. What a great blessing we have been given! We are so grateful to our wonderful Lord! Yolie