Boxes

I have this insane joy each time I empty a box, unceremoniously tear off the tape, and put the box in the garage.  Doesn't that seem odd?  You have to understand that 2 weeks ago our house was filled with boxes that came from Minnesota that were packed 6 months ago!  We packed up our world in the middle of the summer and haven't been able to restore that world since.  We have been living on the bare necessities for all of this time.  That is OK but it leaves us in an unsettled and rootless state of mind.

(The Game is "Where's Maria?")

And then as we open each box we get to look the contents and think of possible places it will work.  Sometimes it is easy to place the items in a fitting place to be used again.  Case in point: deodorant and razors.  Necessary.  Needed.  I know where to store them.  While other times we leave the contents in the box because the place is not readily known.  Our dining room is full of boxes for the pantry and will be for some time.

Dining Room Boxes

So each box gets emptied and placed where it is supposed to be.  I think that the boxes have multiplied since we packed them in MN.  How that happens is not known to me but it just seems that way.  So, we needed to upgrade our storage potential by putting up more shelves.  I am unsure whether this is good since that just means we can accumulate more stuff that we don't need.  But there is joy in seeing items come from boxes that used to be part of everyday life and have been missed.

This entire process reminds me of when I first came to know Jesus.  The first few months were a wonderful time of adventure.  God was unpacking the various areas (boxes) of my life and determining where they fit into the life we lived together.  We looked at the big issues like my music, my relationships, my parties, even my ethics.  We looked at small issues too. It is difficult to put into words how each day was a joy to unwrap.  Life was much more simple then.

To paraphrase Ecclesiastes, "Of the unpacking of boxes there is no end."  Today, there are many more areas to unpack and not every "box" fits nicely into my life.  The boxes are usually the same with minor variations but I have become better at unpacking them.  The more unpacking I do with Jesus, the better I get at knowing where things fit if they do at all.  It continues to be a joy to unpack an area of my life and figure out where it fits into my life with Jesus.  It is all the process of getting settled with Jesus.

Family Room

Settling In

We are in the middle of the moving process and settling in.  Normally this process is untidy at best.  We are so thankful to all those who have helped us move all of our boxes to Michigan even though we and our belongings await our final destination.  There are many plans still being made for our eventual home and we look forward to arranging it with our belongings.  Mostly, we hope that we will be settled before too long so we can begin life in our new place.  Good people like those we have met already will help speed along this process.

The biggest factor in moving is knowing when you are settled enough so that this new residence is now your home.  Some people move their belongings across the country but never get to the point where they feel settled.  They never feel like this new place that they now live is their home. It is difficult for them to begin life in that new place.

Do people do that with God?  A person like this comes to know Jesus personally and they becomes a follower of Jesus along the road of life. Yea!  Angels celebrate! In theological thinking, their new residence is no longer earth but with God in heaven.  But it is not that people don’t like their new home but they never totally get comfortable with it.  They never settle in and start their new life of working for God’s Kingdom.  How sad.

My family and I covet your prayers and patience as we settle into our new home in Michigan.  We look forward to beginning life with those at Celebration Community Church.  May we all as followers of Jesus settle in to our heavenly home so that we can get to our work for God’s Kingdom, that this kingdom will be “on earth as it is in heaven!”