It is moving season around the military and in this week’s Worship Wednesday post, Jennifer Wake reminds us where we should fix our eyes when the packers start stacking the moving boxes.
Moving Boxes are Here Again!
by Jennifer Wake
It is moving season again. I am not moving this year. SHOCKER!!! This will be our first time staying in one place for three years since we lived in Germany 13 years ago.
Moving boxes can be overwhelming. They tower in every room. They take up twice as much space as they should. The labels are the most amusing part of the move. Most of the time it says “pillows” or “bedding” or “dishes,” but when I open them out come toys, pictures, sometimes food, but rarely pillows or bedding or dishes…
My friend came over in tears the other day.  “I can’t do this to my children!”
“Do what?”
“Move.” Â
You see my friend’s spouse recently joined the military and her kids have never moved before.  She believed her kids could not handle the move. In reality, moving scared her as much, if not more, than her kids. Â
“I don’t know how you do this,” she gulped between sobs. “What do you do with all these boxes?”
My heart broke for her. She was terrified about losing everything in the move. She was not focused on the right things. Her eyes were fixed on the boxes and not the One who could help her.
That was when my “best move” story came to mind. Â
When we were leaving Fort Irwin, the middle of nowhere, California, we were told we would have packers for three days and then load on the fourth day. We have a lot of stuff. The morning of day number one arrived and one man showed up.  He informed me that our move was now listed as a “two-day pack and load, not a three-day pack and load.”
He started packing and I started praying.
About an hour later three more packers arrived, then three more. I fed seven at lunchtime. They kept arriving in twos or threes and by dinner, we had to feed 14 people. They left at 7 p.m. and said they would be back the next day. Â
At 8 a.m., 10 arrived. By noon the total reached 18 for lunch. They were loading everything into crates as soon as the boxes closed and had a sticker on them. Faster and faster went the packing then loading, faster and faster went my prayers. I literally stood in the center of my house and prayed nonstop. Â
God showed up.
Everyone was so pleasant and helpful. At 9 p.m. that night they discovered they were one crate short. The man from the first morning said, “trust me I will put everything in a crate in the warehouse.” I prayed and saw my “extra” stuff leave tied on the back of a truck. Â
The song “Look to Jesus” perfectly describes my feelings that day. I had to trust God with all my worldly possessions. Keeping my focus on God, allowed me to stop worrying about Earthly things. That “stuff” can be replaced, repaired or thrown out. Focusing on God keeps our attention on His power and His provision. God is the provider of everything.
When we worship God for his provisions,
we tend to worry less about our stuff.
Moving boxes make huge towers but God is bigger than the towers. Movers make messes, but God reminds us all is well. Â
When you get ready to move, focus on God and remember to “Look to Jesus.”
Whether or not you’re moving this season, I pray you’ll be inspired by this song, Look to Jesus, by Samuel Lane.
What’s your “best move” story? We’d love to hear it!
