(June 27, 2013) For Sale signs sprout up in front of houses like lilies in early summer. For many, the end of a school year brings a season of transition—a move.
Our house is currently cluttered with boxes as a son prepares to move across the country. The packing process gets complicated by souvenirs of life spilling out of drawers and closets. The assorted piles are growing: give away; throw away; take; store (i.e., Mom and Dad keep).
“Oh, I guess I’m going to need a vacuum,” he says. I add it to the packing list, and wonder what other things we’ve overlooked—especially those things that might not fit into a box.
Our family has made plenty of moves—each one testing our faith to some degree. There’s usually a mental and emotional adjustment to an unfamiliar area. Finding a place to live and getting ourselves and our worldly goods there are just the beginning of life in a new place.
The wider challenge for me came in searching for a new support system after leaving family, friends and fellowship. In the chaos of moving, I’d hit the delay button on any grief connected to losing those relationships. But the alarm eventually went off when the boxes were unpacked and loneliness set in.
I didn’t always find my faith perfectly intact on the other end of a move. Maybe it suffered from bumps on the road to our destination, like the wall clock that arrived with broken hinges and a crack down its side. And like the TV remote packed in the wrong box, my faith took some serious searching to uncover.
The late Dr. Roy Fish, a long-time professor of evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, delivered a memorable sermon some years ago. He began by asking a question: “Does your faith travel?” His message referenced Psalm 137, which recalls the plight of the Israelites taken captive to distantBabylon. Verse four reveals their gloomy outlook after leaving behind everything familiar, including worship. “How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?” they lamented.
Dr. Fish said that while faith may thrive in secure surroundings, tied to family and a church steeple, it may wither in a new environment. Moving away from an affirming atmosphere can bring a faith crisis. Where is God in a strange city or at college or in the new territory of divorce or illness?
Dr. Fish told the congregation to have faith that is rooted in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ—faith that can travel. He suggested that along with moving the household goods, we should expedite moving our membership to a good church, and avoid putting our Christian service into storage.
Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, left his family to live far away. Sleeping in the desert on the journey, he had a dream in which he encountered God personally. “Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go,” God promised him. Jacob awoke and exclaimed “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it” (Genesis 28:15-16).
In Christ our faith can flourish anywhere. It won’t pack neatly into a box. But we’re going to need it.
Blue Ribbon News special contributor Patti Richter of Heath is a journalist who writes news and feature stories, book reviews and more for Christian publications.
Read more by Patti Richter:
Mother of the Graduate
The God who heals
Hunting for Easter
Not forgetting the least of these
Beholding wonders
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