Well, it looks as if this clan of current Deep Southerners is going to be moving North in a couple of weeks. Actually, we’ll technically still be living in the South, but only just barely, heh—we’ll be setting up house and home in Virginia, near Washington, D.C.I actually really love moving (except for the actual “moving” part—you know, packing, cleaning, loading the truck, etc.). While I haven’t done a ton of this pulling up stakes and putting down new ones, I’ve had my share. I was born on the East Coast, but moved to the Southwest early on in elementary school. Since then, I’ve lived in several regions of the U.S., including the Midwest, a couple of cities on the West Coast and currently the Deep South.
And I’ve enjoyed every move. I enjoy forging into a new place and setting up camp, exploring the sites and sounds, tasting new foods and seeing new things. And I’ve found that each landscape (even if only subtly) seems to cultivate its own way of life, shaping the people and culture. These are experience for which I am truly thankful.
Perhaps I owe my folks for this pilgrim heart. I’ve always admired them for their example of holding on loosely and forging into new places and territories. Their hearts, for as long as I can remember, have been ones of thirsting for and seeking after Jesus and the Way. And that seeps into the rest of your life: the way you view possessions, family, friends and your place in the world—not as a resident, but a traveler. And I’m hopeful and humbled to think that perhaps a bit of that has rubbed off on me.
That doesn’t mean this pulling up stakes thing isn’t hard at times—especially learning to live with the physical distance put between me and the people I’ve grown to love. But I’m discovering as time goes on that the deeper relationships last and grow. There’s this beautiful, eternal nature to relationships between those who walk in the Kingdom together. And God is amazing in how—if we walk with him—he opens our eyes and hearts to each other as we go, so new relationships form and grow.
Anyway, we’re busy, busy, busy, so if the posts begin to get a bit sparser over the next month, you’ll know why. We should be settling in early next month up in the northern South, and then I’ll be able to go back to feeding my blog addictions. Heh.
