This Christmas, the Pellicane family is doing the holidays very differently. We’re moving. As in boxes and projects everywhere.
Our new home is only 5 minutes away from our current house. The beautiful view and upgrades caught our eye plus the new house brings us a little closer to grandma and grandpa.
Moving is terrible for all the reasons that come to your mind: boxes, lifting, sorting, being overwhelmed.
But it’s also wonderful (yes, I’m kind of preaching to my tired self right now).
How wonderful to give things away that haven’t been used in years and to dream of a fresh start (neat home!).
Moving is a great test of being flexible. Am I ready to pick up and move when God says so? Or am I too attached to my stuff and to my routine? Moving certainly is shaking me free of material attachments like the sentimentality of the only home my kids have ever known.
In my Bible reading plan, I’m in the Book of Numbers about the children of Israel and their move into the promised land. Hmm, I guess God had that one figured out! I want to be like Joshua and Caleb and see opportunities ahead, not like the naysayers that said it would be too hard.
In one way, moving has delayed Christmas because there are no decorations up. No Christmas tree. That will happen in the new house next week hopefully.
But in another way, moving has brought the meaning of Christmas to the forefront. It’s hard to move from one home to another. Imagine bridging the gap between heaven and earth. From being God to being man. Now THAT’S a move!
As I move, I am reminded of what Christ did. How He moved so dramatically for me. I think of Mary and how she moved as a young mother, first for the census in Bethlehem. Then to escape Herod’s plot to kill Jesus to Egypt. Then back to Nazareth again. That’s a lot of miles and moving for a young mom and her child.
I want to be ready for Jesus this Christmas. To think of what He has done for us and how He is coming again. The boxes are a reminder – we are not home yet!