KevinChilds.com

I spent Saturday moving. Some awesome friends (& you know who you are) gave me a lot of their Saturday, and most of them did a lot more work that I did.  Not exactly sure how that happened, but I owe them.  Some things I learned from the little taste of Hell known as “moving day.”

• Moving sucks. I know that is self-evident, but it just needed to be said.
• I’m thankful to have a nice home. In fact, I’m thankful to have a home at all.  Beth Pensinger walked us through this process all the way back to scouring the map to find the most house for the least money.  This is the nicest home I’ve ever lived in.  Polly tolerated my suggestions, and then made better decisions on pretty much everything.  We moved here with nothing just to start our church.  And now after renting for five years, we have a great home to enjoy.
• I’m thankful to have ANY home.  A couple of nights before we moved, I slept almost none.  I worried about not being ready to move.  I worried about all the little repair stuff left over and whether I would know how to do it … and would that cost me my security deposit … how much might I have to pay for it if somebody else did it?  I worried that if part of the house was a mess, how might that reflect on me to the people who helped me move.  Then, while I was praying and walking the next day, God reminded me that lots of people don’t have a home to move into.
• Moving highlights the relative value of temporal things. Today’s gotta-have-it  treasure is tomorrow’s cheap yard sale item.
• Moving points up the temporary nature of all earthly things. We threw a LOT of things away.  And – in all honesty – that is hard for me.  I’m the packrat.  But I threw away files that I’ve held on to for twenty years.  I’m getting rid of a lot of books too.  And I’ve hoarded and protected my books for a very long time.
• As grateful as I am for our new home, this isn’t home.  This world is just a camping trip on the way home.  Those who love Jesus are headed for a mansion that is beyond description.  And getting there won’t require packing any boxes.