I am not sure that I have words enough for what the last 7 days have been like for Sarah and myself…
We contracted with a Moving company, whose Van Lines came recommended, we did the research, we checked our ‘I’s’ and crossed our ‘T’s’. And we STILL got so screwed over by this company that it’s almost funny…almost.
I know that I am not the only person who has ever been messed up by a moving company, but I am just overwhelmed with it. But I believe that I have learned a lesson through this about humility, patience, and grace. It’s been difficult to endure and learn, but good lessons usually are.
Humility – I have no idea if YOU have ever packed everything that you own and put it in a truck and then watch people, who you don’t know, man-handle and drive away with all your belongings. Then after 3-4 days of not knowing ANYTHING about your stuff, you get a call saying that everything will be delivered NEXT day…definitely. Then once the truck DOES arrive, you watch more people mistreat and TOSS your stuff to the ground. After all the arguing and mistreatment by the company, I finally got down to it… I tried with all my might to control every aspect of this move: the money, the time, the movers, the loading, unloading, and care of my stuff. And in this move, and my everyday life, have NO CONTROL WHATSOEVER! God is in control, and I can only deal with what He allows to put in my path. And it’s my choice to react well, or react poorly.
Patience - When you move, you enter a waiting game. Seriously, NOTHING ever runs on time or how you would EXPECT it to run. For instance, when we were told that they would be there between 9 and 11, they showed up at 12 Noon. And they worked for a couple of hours and then stopped for a pizza break. Seriously… And every hour or so, there was a smoke break. Then there was the count break, to count the number of boxes, cubit feet, clouds in the sky, I am not 100% sure. And the time until the [different] truck showed up at our new house, was an ETERNITY. And I learned a great deal of patience. I went through the anger, panic, anger, indifference, anger stages and finally came to ACCEPT that which I could not change or affect. I never pray for patience usually, but I think that God knew that I needed to learn some…and I did.
Grace – It was near the beginning stages of the saga of unloading the truck. It was horrible. It really has felt like the United Nations have helped us move. We had a Russian, Israeli, Croatian, Redneck-Americans, and 1 guy from whatever part of the world STILL thinks women are property, move our belongings. And you KNOW that 1 guy set really well with Sarah-Irene… We almost had to call the cops on him, seriously…. It was during this process that I got a call from my new pastor, Scott Whitaker. He listened to me rant and rave and then said simply, “What can I do to help?” And I told him I needed some help moving stuff over to the storage facility. And he did it. He helped me with about 8 trips, bought us cold water, and helped keep Sarah and I calm during one of the MANY skirmishes between the driver, unloaders, and Sarah and me (the “Customers”). He was a very calming presence. He also showed us a tremendous amount of grace. That’s the type of friendship that breeds loyalty and Scott will never have to ask for any help from Sarah or myself, because of what he did, it’s a given that we are there for him!
So that sums up what I learned, but it was a struggle to get to the point where lessons could be understood and learned. But that’s how God works, what seems like a huge obstacle becomes a small step when you trust God and allow Him to work in your life. That’s why I chose James 1:4 as my life verse, and it gets proven every single day, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV)”
May the love and peace of God be in and with you today!
His grace is sufficient! Love you.
I know, but for a while there…I was concerned that there was going to be a murder at my new house!