I wonder if there's anyone out there who absolutely loves moving house. Maybe if you've just built your very first home there would be that excitement of moving into something that is new and your own. But still, the thought of packing up one place to move to the next, I believe is NEVER a fun or breezy task.
We just moved house this past weekend. I wasn't really looking forward to it. It is not a task I would class as fun. It's a pretty tough gig and I have come to the conclusion that they should offer a Certificate III in House Moving for those who have never done it.
It can be a mammoth task and all the logistics involved can be extremely overwhelming. My husband and I are fairly experienced at it these days but that doesn't mean it gets any easier!I knew the end result was going to be good and we were excited to think of setting up and establishing our life in a new home and a new suburb.
One thing, however, that has always touched me about the moving process is the people in our lives who are willing to jump on board and help us to move. I have been overwhelmed this weekend with the people who have given of their time and poured out so much energy to help our family move from one side of our Shire to the other.
We were moving off a rural property to a suburban area, so that in itself would have turned most people off. It's not a walk in the park and moving other people's lives around in trailers is not for the faint hearted. But we had people ringing or sending us messages offering a helping a hand in whatever we may need. From loading trailers, lifting fridges, driving packed cars and unpacking boxes, there are seemingly endless tasks that people put their hand up to help with. And the truth is, we could not have done it without them.
Family of God
I saw unfold before my eyes a beautiful illustration of the family of God. Stepping outside of what they would have preferred to be doing on a Saturday and tirelessly ferrying our belongings down the M1 in Melbourne's south east. No one complained. No one said they'd had enough. In fact, they were saying, what else can we do? And it's that one line that really stands out to me.
Today I'd just about had enough. Major lack of sleep. My brain was struggling to think. Just to make things even more fun, we had a rock go through our rear windscreen on the way out with our final trailer load, bound for the tip. Smashed glass went through the whole car, so the car and the trailer full of things were stranded at the fairly isolated property we were supposed to have completely left by that time.
With the weekend over, my husband had gone to work, thinking he'd have to sort out tip loads and windscreen repairs after work that evening. But "what else can I do?" happened yet again. A pastor and friend from our church took 3 hours of his day to sort out the trailer and the tip load and everything was cleared and sorted by the end of the day.
We were so humbled that this final challenging piece of our moving puzzle had been beautifully sorted. Simply because someone looked outside of themselves and saw another's need. I could not have done what this man did for us and he saved us so much extra stress and time.
Jesus constantly saw the needs of others around Him. He saw their practical needs and He saw their spiritual need. While moving house seems like such a mundane task, it was our current need and one that people came to us lovingly to help with. Not begrudgingly or out of obligation.
Simply because they have hearts that beat like the heart of Jesus and want o genuinely serve others and meet needs around them. Hearts that overflow with God's love and the words 'what else can I do?" instead of, "I've had enough, when can I stop?" My friends are the type of people our communities need. No matter who you are or where you've been, "what else can I do for you?"
Laura Veloso is wife to John and the mother of 3 young boys. She is trained in child welfare and primary school teaching and has experience in overseas missions and youth leadership.
Laura Veloso's archive of articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/laura-veloso.html