SEEK THE WELL-BEING OF THE PLACE WHERE GOD HAS YOU

Jim and I are in a place that is unusual for us.  We’ve finally moved to Florida, but ultimately we’re not staying here in North Fort Myers.  We’re going to a church, but we know already it won’t be our church home.  It’s a little less exciting to try and make friends here or get involved in church ministry when we – and those we meet – know it isn’t going to be permanent.  We’ve never been in this position and it’s weird!

On the last Sunday we were in our church in New Jersey our pastor preached a sermon in which he said the following, “Seek the well-being of the place where God has you.”  With a major move just two days away, I knew he was speaking directly to me.  

We were leaving the familiar – neighborhood, friends and family, the state we each grew up in, the church and church family we loved - for the new, and unknown, and at least at first, the impermanent.  It was sad and also exciting.

Three weeks later and I thought I was doing pretty well.  The first week or so it was an adventure.  Then last week I began noticing that my jaw was bothering me, I was having trouble sleeping, I felt achy, lethargic, and fatigued, and I wasn’t as interested in doing things.  After some confusion and a bit of whining and complaining, I think I figured it out.  The stress - physical, emotional, and maybe even spiritual - of moving has caught up with me.  Just identifying it has helped.

That first week here I was eager to get busy. I cleaned, swam, washed blinds, bought a jaunty fall tablecloth.  Then the lethargy set in.  Back in New Jersey when things were slow I couldn't wait to volunteer at church and outside of it.  That's how I became involved in volunteering for hospice and tutoring in English as a Second Language.  But. . . . we’re not going to be here long.  I can't really make those kinds of commitments here. So, what to do?

The words of our pastor came back to me – "seek the well-being of the place where God has you".  Maybe I can’t serve in the church we attend here, but I can pray for the pastors, I can send letters of encouragement to them, I can pray for the woman who leads the small group in the Bible study I attended, I can reach out to a couple of ladies I met who are friends of my step sister.  I can make a difference for a little while in the lives of those who live here – in my new neighborhood, my new church – even if we’re ultimately not staying.