moving: heaven and earth

Moving is such a struggle but has become so common in our transient society today. Imaging growing up in the same town your entire life and then in your mid-twenties moving to a completely new city. There are so many transitions that have to happen.

You leave your family that you are used to seeing. You leave all your best friends behind. You leave the familiar roadways and restaurants. You leave your old place of work and all of your relationships there. You leave behind your church, your faith community. You change climates, normalcy in weather and general temperature norms. You move to a new place and try to start over.

New places and new faces. Getting lost wherever you go becomes normal again. Being overly dependent on those who you do know in the new town, loneliness creeps in. Wishing old friends and family were close by. Not knowing where the "nearest" anything is. Trying to find a new apartment, a new job and a new faith community. All which include their own form of interviews and piles of paperwork.

Stress and bouts of depression meet isolation and unfamiliarity. The "good-byes" are hard. And sometimes the "hellos" are even harder.

I was reminded of Christ last night as I sat in bed and thought about all the complications in moving. I wondered if Christ had anything to say about the struggles that come with the moving process from one city to another. God reminded me of His Son's big move. Many times when we move, the memories of our home town make it seem like heaven on earth. And on top of that, the frustrations of the new place make it feel like hell. But Jesus, quite literally, moved from heaven to earth. From perfection to imperfection. From a place of pure holiness to a place infected by sin.

We think we are close to our friends and family. Jesus said goodbye to his Father, with whom there is no separation. He moved from the all-powerful position of God to the place of being an infant child completely dependent on his frail, sinful parents. Knowing his purpose, Jesus spent many days and many nights alone in the world. His only comfort was found in prayerful conversation with his Father in heaven. And just when he seemed to have a community of faith formed around him, he moved again. This time back Home. Finally at his death, true love met true isolation. Though he made some good friends the last few years here on earth, the proof was in the pudding when the crap hit the fan.

Now that is a move. He experienced the worst a move has to offer. He moved because his Father told him to. He moved for you and me. And his move has made all the difference.