One Drawer At A Time

    Recently, I was cleaning out our junk drawer (you know, the one where everything goes into it, when you don't know where to put them).  My husband, asked me what I was doing and I replied: 

"I'm cleaning and sorting.  

One drawer at a time!"   

Several days later, a friend asked me, "How does a family of six, moving half-way around the world, ever begin to know what to pack or how to even start?"    

My response was: 
"One drawer at a time!"

   Moving down the street, across town, or even out of state seems fairly straightforward. Not too much thought has to go into it other than making sure you pack everything in a somewhat organized manner.  Then pack up the moving truck and move forward with your new life, with little to moderate changes to location, routines or schedules, friendships, etc...   

We KNOW!!  

We've moved at least 7 times throughout the course of our married life!

   Obviously, each time the packing and moving process took longer as our family expanded and as did our belongings and possessions.  Always asking ourselves that one question: "How come we have so much "crap"?  And WHY do we keep moving it from place to place???!!

   But what if you had to sort through all your wordly belongings, memory keepsakes, those things that you hold on to -  some dear and not so dear.  Having to make decisions as to the future outcome of those possessions.  Which box do they go in?  Give away, sell, long term storage, short-term storage, and take with .   

   Ok, so then throw in the element of not only are you moving, but the home to which you are moving to is totally opposite of what you have ever known especially when it comes to functioning in daily life and living requirements.  It has some similarities, as we tell our kids.  But lets face it...it will be different.  Anything from driving on the left hand side of the road - from the rightside of the car, different way of doing normal routines, different culture, different language, different currency, different electrical challenges, remembering not to drink the water from the tap, or to always lock your car doors as soon as you get in the car, to sitting in traffic for maybe hours at a time just to go 5 miles down the road.   All these things are not bad in anyway, just different.   

   Now, take it to the next level.  You are not simply packing your physical belongings.  You are beginning to "pack up" your emotional, spiritual, relational and psychological "belongings".  Which box do they go in?  It would seem to be so easy if you could sort them the same way that you do your physical stuff:  Sell, give away, long- term storage, short-term storage and immediate -take with.

   However, it doesn't work that way.  Sorting through the latter aspects, is perhaps the hardest part of the journey.  I can't exactly say that sorting through our life possessions is a walk in the park by any means.  There's a lot to go through!  And most days it seems quite daunting of a task and very overwhelming.  Then other days, its easy to face and to look at it as "It's only "stuff".  Things that eventually will fade away .  

 Matthew 6:19  says, " Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth 

where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "

   
   A couple years ago, I had written a post for our missions blog entitled "Before you pack your bags, prepare your heart to go"

Here is an excerpt from that:

"Often times, in the course of the preparation journey, I find myself getting quickly sidetracked and focused in on the organization end of it and while we can develop the game plan, carry out the ministry and travel logistics and what it is we will do; we, myself included, fail to prepare our hearts for what God wants to do in and through us. The challenge is to prepare our hearts so that we can:

1. serve in the most God-honoring way

2. to go as a humble servant

3. to go with basic cross cultural sensitivity

4. to go ready to be a team player

5. to go expecting God to change you.

...To prepare ourselves to go and ready to give God our very best. We will face obstacles, we will face spiritual warfare. We will battle against our flesh. The call has gone out....now, we know that before we pack our bags, We must prepare our hearts to go!!!" 

   So when we find ourselves beginning to question the sanity of it all.  While those "belongings" and details are all so important and necessary - emotional, spiritual, psychological, relational, and yes, even physical.  Before we pack our bags, or clean out another drawer;  We will prepare our hearts to go!!

Hear

Emotions

Always Obey

Respond

Trust

Prayer

Rest

Embraced

Peace

Aim for the Prize

Renewed

Emotions, Relations, Hearts, Spirits, Wills