The Song That Never Ends

So we are getting new carpeting in the living room.

(Pause for cheers!!! Wave goodbye to the purple and green!!!)

As we emptied the living room yesterday (again), I commented to Mom that it feels like we have been doing nothing but move for the last year and a half. It is hard to put my finger on a week in which we weren't packing something, unpacking something, moving furniture, or looking for a place to live. There hasn't been a day we haven't done without something that is safely packed away in a box somewhere.

Lately, we've had to just buy things. Even though we know we already have one...safely packed way in a box somewhere.

As some of you already know, the Lord recently made it clear that Dad's assignment to our church here in Oregon has ended. It was a shorter assignment than we expected. But, then, my expectations and God’s plan for me are frequently polar opposites.

All of which is to say that we're once again living in a state of suspense. Does the Lord have another church assignment for us? Does He intend for us to stay here? Does He plan for us to move on?

I really don’t know.

Mostly, I can only admit to being distinctively human with only a very ordinary thirst for adventure. I like to know where I’m going to sleep tomorrow night. It’s nice when next payday has a date on the calendar. And I don’t like the word “indefinite” when it comes to boxes in storage.

But how can I complain?

One of my favorite verses is Deuteronomy 8:2,3. That was where God reminded the children of Israel of the history of their relationship with them. He advises them to “remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee…to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”

Then He reminded them that He “humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna…that he might make the to know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.”

If God had given Israel wheat and spinach, they wouldn’t have been hungry or expected anything more. And they would have totally missed out on the manna. Especially, they wouldn’t have learned to trust God and rely solely on His word for their living.

When I feel hungry for things I don’t have, I am learning to realize that the Lord is allowing that hunger…so that He can satisfy me with something deeper, something more ultimately lasting. My earthly security has been undergoing a slow but sure change of ownership process. I have been learning to trust what doesn’t change; I have been learning to be content when other things do change. And I know that’s what He always wanted.

And that knowledge is enough.

Enough to pack another box…or unpack…or repack. Enough to buy another set of measuring spoons even though I know we have a set safely packed away in storage. Enough to move furniture (again).

Enough to thoroughly enjoy new carpeting in a house we will probably sell soon.

It goes on and on, my friend…