We All Have Somewhere to Go
In the span of three weeks this past spring, I laid my head on my pillow in seven different beds. In one week during that time, I woke up on three different continents. This is not uncommon for me. I usually have somewhere to go.
Although I dread the packing process with every ounce of my being, I’ve made it easier by living in a constant state of readiness.
Getting Ready
My travel lineup includes my favorite makeup bag, electronic and audio books, international plug adapters and charging cords, dual voltage travel electronics, and a drawer of neatly separated currencies from various countries. I know which of my clothes are best for traveling, and I’ve made it a point to find the most comfortable, versatile, and lightweight shoes. Honestly, and perhaps slightly embarrassingly, it’s not unusual for some of those clothes and shoes to still be sitting in the luggage from my last trip.
On one leg of my journey this past spring, I stood in line at Manchester Airport on my way to visit friends in the Middle East. In front of me were several large, multi-generational Arab families traveling together with numerous pieces of luggage. I stood alone with my one carefully packed checked bag, my one carry-on, and my one personal item—as allowed.
As the families in front of me checked in, I moved closer to the counter at a snail’s pace and texted my husband. I told him I felt like I was watching a modern-day Abraham and Sarah scene unfold, as described in Genesis 12:1 and 5. These Scriptures are what my husband and I call the “U-Haul Scriptures.”
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you… He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (NIV)
On the Move
With twenty-three moves in my fifty years, I’ve become well-acquainted with everything involved in packing up and moving. My life is nothing if not transient. I’ve packed many a bag, box, and U-Haul trailer over the years.
From a young age, I was taught to be an adventurer, to take risks, to travel. It’s in my DNA. I was seven years old when my family moved to Brazil. This was in the ’70s when the internet was as much of a foreign concept as our new life in South America was. In similar Abraham and Sarah fashion, my mom and dad packed up our family of six (including four daughters ages five to fifteen) and moved us far away from anything remotely familiar. While our household possessions and dresser drawers (filled with toilet paper because my mom knows what’s important) made their way across the ocean, my family got on a great big plane with our luggage. We looked a little like the Arab families I mentioned earlier, with a bit of the Beverly Hillbillies thrown in for good measure. I can only imagine how we held up the check-in line at the airport.
What’s Keeping You Grounded?
Years ago, my husband and I participated in a popular financial course through our church. Earlier in our marriage, we had acquired considerable debt. While we were in a better financial position at the time of the course, we had some residual debt that kept us grounded.
Someone mentioned that if we felt called to go somewhere, we had to set in place what we needed to make it happen. We’ve heard people say they want to go places but either can’t afford to or that they think it’s too scary to think about. We decided to do what it took to get ourselves to the place where we could be ready to “pack up our U-Haul” when the opportunity to go presented itself.
In 2009, with our fear and finances in check, we packed up our household possessions and put them on a boat. Instead of toilet-paper-laden dresser drawers, we filled plastic tubs with feminine products (because I knew what was important). Our family was ready to get on a great big plane headed to Southeast Asia with all our luggage. With five people each toting three large pieces of checked baggage as well as our carry-ons and personal items—that’s thirty-five pieces in all—we were a sight to behold. We definitely held up the check-in line at the airport.
Whether we spend our entire lives in the home we’ve lived in from birth, or have had a string of addresses too numerous to remember, Matthew tells us at the beginning of chapter 28:19, “Therefore go.” We were created for movement, for forward motion. Our journey may take us twenty inches, twenty feet, or twenty thousand miles, but go we must. It’s in our DNA.
Do you dream of going somewhere but find that finances are keeping you grounded? Are you being called to a place but find that fear keeps you from taking flight?
I often wonder how many blessings we miss because we aren’t ready to go, or worse, because we’re too afraid to go. Yet in Matthew 28:20 (NIV), God promises to go with us: “Surely I am with you always.”
What are you waiting for? Get ready. Get packed up. You have somewhere to go!
Andrea Stunz is a wife, mom, mother-in-law, and a ridiculously proud grandmother. She is a well-traveled foodie and a stumbling pilgrim always on the hunt for good coffee and a gorgeous sunrise. She loves sharing stories and finds her hope in Colossians 1:17. Connect with Andrea on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and find more of her writings at AndreaStunz.com.
Photograph © Erwan Hesry, used with permission
