For those feeling hesitant about an upcoming move, I have some encouragement for you. Strength begets strength. If you’re feeling weak as a result of a decision to make a big move, strengthening your “moving muscle” will benefit you in more ways than one.
As with anything in life, the only way to achieve the reward is to do the work. There is no option to go around work and achieve the same result. We have to push through trauma, not avoid it! But, the good news is, if you are seeking to be strong in one area, strength will spill over into other areas of your life you didn’t even realize were weak.
Moving Will Reveal Your Weakness
Although I grew up with zero athletic ability or interest, as an adult I really enjoy working out. The only reason working out became an interest of mine is because after losing a grandmother to osteoporosis and having four babies, I realized I needed to get strong for my own benefit and for the benefit of those I am called to serve. The first step to getting strong was acknowledging my weakness. And acknowledge it I did as it became much more apparent the older I got! What I didn’t realize was that having to become disciplined in one area of my life was going to challenge me in many others.
There is a particular trauma that comes with relocating a family. I think some people are better at pushing through it than others, maybe because of moving a lot as a child or having an overly adventurous personality, but it seems there is a “moving muscle” that is stronger in some.
Regardless of your ability to joyfully replant your family in a new state, you will at some point discover a personal weakness you did not know about yourself. It will have been revealed as a result of your move. As Christians, we know we will constantly be learning more and more about the depths of our sinfulness as God sanctifies us. There is a unique opportunity during a move to soak up all the ways God is calling us to grow stronger.
Moving Can Be Used to Make You Stronger
Meeting new people requires a greater level of selflessness. Dropping your kids off at a new school demands a stronger trust in God. New employment opportunities means learning new skills. None of these things come easily and yet they are all traits every one of us needs in order to live a healthy life that glorifies God. A move simply provides the opportunity to reveal the weakness so we will want to get stronger.
When you become aware of a certain weakness during your move, don’t excuse or ignore it. Look it square in the face, “fess up”, pray and seek strength in that area by beginning to move the muscle. What is so amazing is that, in time, that adventurous spirit you had to put on to give your family hope during your move or that new skill set you really didn’t think you could manage to learn, or that interpersonal communication you had to work on to meet a new friend, will spill over into other areas of your life and will carry with it a greater reward than you anticipated.
Trust the Leader
When I first started working out, I didn’t understand why I needed to do exercises for a strong upper back. It seemed pointless…a huge waste of time. But I continued forward because I trusted the person who prescribed them in my workout and a day came when I realized how important they were! One of my precious children decided it would be hilarious to bring a hose into the house and then turn it on. (I think perhaps they thought they were helping to clean the floor.) In any case, I was holding my baby boy when I turned a corner in our kitchen and slipped HARD onto my back! Before this, whenever I had any kind of a fall or clumsy accident, my neck would go out for days and it was TERRIBLE. But this fall was different. By God’s grace I managed to hold onto my baby and even though we fell good and hard, my neck never went out! I realized in the following days that I had gotten stronger and that strength had kept me moving both for mine and my family’s sake.
Just as I had no idea why an upper back workout would be helpful in my daily life, you may not understand today why working on a new friendship or learning a new skill set in your new state will benefit you in other realms of your life, but one day, you will. Being forced to grow is not something we usually sign up for, but remember, when God adds your name to that list, He will equip you. And, because He sees the end from the beginning, He knows what is best for you. We really don’t, until we’ve messed up.
So, sweet woman afraid to move out of state even though your husband is telling you this is best, or single 20 something who finds himself in a new state with no friends or family, look your weakness square in the face, pray and act! Don’t let it take you out, cause you to doubt your decisions or encourage you to drown it out sinfully. See the weakness and strengthen the muscle. When you do, you will be helping yourself today and tomorrow in more ways than you could ever comprehend. Trust God with your weakness. He will be your strength.
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