Jen Russum

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Flowers Fade Friday: On Moving

Moving to a new place is a
beautiful struggle. It’s sometimes oh-so-difficult to feel at home in a new
city or state. The roads are unfamiliar. You miss your favorite restaurants.
It’s not always feasible to spend every holiday with family. You suddenly find
yourself playing phone tag with friends who used to be able to meet you for
coffee at a moment’s notice. You have to find a new church. Settle into a new
job. Honestly, you spend a lot of Friday nights at home. Gone are the days of
the booked schedules, the baby showers, the book clubs, the Bible studies, and
the happy hours. It can be lonely.

But there is a certain
sweetness to this time as well, especially for young married couples. I never
would have learned to rely on my husband so deeply and fully if we had not
moved to Arizona where we had virtually no friends and no family around us.  I never would have been able to grow in my
marriage so quickly if I had been distracted by girlfriends and co-workers and
weekly commitments. I probably would not have learned to trust God in so many new ways
if I had not gone into an unknown land to see what He had in store for me.
And think of all the
things I would not have experienced if Micah and I had not gone on our newlywed
adventure. I probably still would have never seen the Grand Canyon, floated the
Salt River, or hiked Camelback Mountain {I only cried once on the way up…ha!}.
I would not be blessed by our new community of friends, delighting in our new city, or be
following my dream of getting my PhD.
Climbed it…

Saw it…

Floated it…

I know that it’s hard at times to be in a new place. But as
someone who is now two years into Arizona life, I want to tell you that it does
get better. Eventually you will be busy every weekend. You will feel settled.
You will feel comfortable. Someday this place
might feel like home…
But that reminds me that
we are never really HOME on earth. It doesn’t matter if we stay in our hometown
our whole lives or venture to a new state or even a different country. It doesn’t matter if we settle down and start a family, or travel the world, or
serve as a missionary in a foreign place. This world is not our home. We have a
heavenly home waiting for us – a home with many rooms where we get to see God
face to face. I can’t wait for the day I’m finally home with the Lord, but
until then I am going to enjoy each adventure He leads me to as I sojourn on
this earth of His.
But as it is, they desire a better country, that
is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he
has prepared for them a city.
 – Hebrews
11:16 –

Comments

  1. Hmmmm…maybe this is what I needed to read this week as we contemplate lots of relocation options in the next year. 🙂 Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement!

  2. Love this. So timely, Jen. My husband and I just moved to Japan and are already sad about missing this upcoming holiday season with family. It's easy to waste time in bad perspective when instead I should be like what the heck?? I'm 23 years old and getting to live in Asia and explore and adventure with my wonderful husband. What a blessing. God is good. Thanks for the reminder 🙂

  4. Yes this is what I needed too! Wow lately God has been guiding me to all the right blog posts. Lol
    Just moved into a new state, and in the search for a great church and great Christian couples was so hard in our last place. Praying we find both soon. 🙂

  5. When I got married last year I moved to Tucson where my husband teaches. Just got my bachelors I had no job and I didn't know any one but Ben. I have never had to rely on God so much. He reminded me that my value and purpose was in him. Not what my job was or the people I knew. Eventually it all worked out! How great is our God!

  6. God's word says it perfectly about where our true home is. moving is hard anytime it happens and growing up I moved every three years because my dad was in the AF. so you can say i grew accustom to moving but anytime it happens it is still a scary process

  7. My best friend of 22 years is moving away from me in two weeks. To be honest, I'm a little worried and scared for her. Thanks for pointing out that moving isn't totally bad. I know she'll make friends, and have fun where she's going(Orlando!), and most of all get closer to her boyfriend, just like you did. Loved reading your perspective on moving to a new place.

  8. Ummmm….. Lovely…. Did you write this for me?! Thanks for wrapping up everything I'm feeling and taking it away from me. 🙂 What a wonderful, encouraging post! Love you, friend!