My wife and I moved last week.  The house we’ve lived in the past twenty-eight years has served us well.  But Judy battles arthritis in her knees and climbing the stairs to the master bedroom several times a day became too painful a challenge.  It became increasingly obvious that it was time to consider moving to a condo with easier access.

The decision to move was more difficult for me since I am more change-averse, especially as I get older.  (I think the biggest change I’ve made in the last decade is moving from regular Cheerios to Honey Nut Cheerios!)  I resisted the idea for a year and even suggested to Judy that we just move into a nursing home and skip the next phase so we wouldn’t ever have to move again.  She failed to appreciate the humor in that thought.

Consequently for the past month we’ve been packing boxes, throwing a few things away, making trips to Goodwill, asking the kids to come and get the items they’d stored in our basement, carting fragile items to the new condo, notifying those who need to know of our change of address and all the other tedious responsibilities that come with moving.  Believe me, it’s not fun. I have a new appreciation for people who move every few years.  How do they do it?

Last Monday we closed on our house and signed the contract for a Condo.  Tuesday was moving day.  Now we’re unpacking boxes, trying to decide where to hang what picture, searching for needed items packed away in some unmarked box and determining what new furniture, carpet, drapes, lamps etc. have yet to be purchased.  Somehow the old things we carted over to the new place don’t quite match the new décor.  Really?!

But it’s not all negative. Along the way some positive spiritual lessons are being reinforced by our experience:

God is true to His promise to guide us.  The Bible promises, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6)  We prayed that if it was God’s will for us to move that He would open doors and make it obvious to us.  He did.

F.B. Meyer is reported to have said, “If God is in it, it flows.  If it’s forced, it’s of the flesh.”  I think that’s true most of the time.  It certainly was for us in this experience.  We looked at a variety of condos and one became the obvious right choice.  And the resources were available.  Once our house was up for sale it sold in a couple of weeks with no hassle.  In fact a wonderful couple from Southeast Christian Church bought it.  The day we turned over the keys they requested I pray for God to bless them in their new home.  I got choked up in the prayer but I thanked God for our memories and that He had been true to His promise to guide us in moving to a new chapter.

We store up too many things that need to be given away sooner.  Jesus commanded us not to lay up treasure on earth and moving reminds us of how much we violate that command.  I gave half the clothes in my closet away.  I should have done that sooner.  If I’ve not worn it in the last year, maybe someone else can.  I gave several hundred books to the church library.  They in turn provide a table of free books to the Medical Missions Conference and tell me people are delighted to gobble up material that will benefit them.  If I’m not going to read a book again, why not give it away so someone else can benefit from it?

We’ve still retained lots of stuff that one day our children are going to spend time sifting through, carting to the dumpster, mumbling the whole time about their parents’ hoarding instincts.  We would be wiser to throw junk away on a regular basis.

Change can be good.  Jesus said you cannot put new wine in old wineskins.  Change is essential at times.  Dr. Lewis Foster used to say that he looked at his life in terms of chapters.  There comes a time to close a chapter and move into a new chapter.  You can go back and review past chapters, but don’t live in yesterday’s chapter.  It’s so easy to get into a rut and refuse to leave our comfort zone and life can becomes too routine, and sometimes boring, because we’re afraid to take risks.  In a sense we’re living in yesterday’s chapter.

Jack Hillerich of Louisville Slugger recently suggested to me that there are two things you can be sure of: “First, people don’t like change and they resist it.  Secondly people don’t like the way things are!”  Not all change is good but change is essential for improvement.  I like our new place.  We are ready to make new memories, meet some new neighbors and enjoy some new experiences.

We are so blessed.  My wife and I have been married 51 years and we have the health, the energy, and the resources to move to a new place and to begin writing a new chapter.  Judy is happy to live primarily on one floor.  Our new neighbors are personable and welcoming.  Our family, friends and primary relationships remain intact.  Our church is just about the same distance. In fact we’re closer to the Crestwood Campus and plan to visit there.  God is so good!

Moving stirs up precious memories.  While sifting through some of the things I’d kept in a drawer, I came across the following essay my son Phil wrote for a school assignment over thirty years ago.  He attended a Christian School and had been given an assignment of writing an essay for Thanksgiving.  The topic was, “I Thank God for _______ because__________:”

Phil wrote, “I thank God for Bob Russell because he is my dad.  Well, that’s not the only reason.  He is a cool dude.  I can talk to him as if he is my best friend.  He takes time out of his busy schedule to talk to me.  I love him with all my heart.

“Since my best friend and brother are no longer here it was great to have my dad here as my friend.  So many times other kids talk about how their dad never does anything with them and I love it when I get a chance to say, ‘My dad is cool.’

“I’d like to thank him for treating me like a son with respect – almost like an adult instead of treating me like a dumb kid like some fathers do.  My dad is the best dad in the world.”

Of course reading that note really choked me up.  If we hadn’t moved, I would have never read that piece again.  It would have remained tucked away in a drawer and never warmed my soul or caused me to weep tears of gratitude.  I have a lot of regrets about not being a better dad but because we moved I’m reminded that maybe I did a few things right and I’ve got some great memories for which I’m very grateful.

So I’m thankful we’ve moved…but I wouldn’t mind if we never have to do it again!

P.S.  Don’t forget to vote Tuesday!
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