Is It More Difficult to Pack or to Unpack?

We’re on the move. I don’t mean we’re excited about how God continues to use The Oikos Movement, even though that’s true. I mean we’re really on the move. The leaving town kind of “on the move.” After 42 years of living in the same community, Sheryl and I are moving to the state next door. 

There have been a lot of conversations going on around the Mercer house lately. One them framed the question, “Which is more difficult…to pack or to unpack?” (Sounds Shakespearean.) I have to admit, I hope it’s harder to pack, because that part is over!

Moving is really hard and the Arizona desert is really hot. But seven grandchildren await our arrival, so I’m not looking for sympathy. (That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take some). Moving is a necessary part of life for virtually everyone. 

Physically, the effort required to move certainly increases with age. But the real challenge is to manage the emotional side of moving. Leaving our firstborn and most of her family behind. Leaving lifelong friends and an incredible network of loving support. And, of course, leaving a beautiful house that we’ve called home for a long time.

The word home is a big part of our vernacular, because it is such a systemic part of who we are. We refer to people as home bodies. We aspire to be homeowners. We want a home town. We love our home church. We look forward to the home stretch. We hope to hit a home run. Home is where the heart is. 

The only real problem with “home” is that we’ve never had one. The last actual home any human had was in the Garden of Eden. Maybe that’s why moving seems like a curse. When Adam and Eve sinned, one of the first things God said was, “You gotta move!” 

Sin led to eviction and, since Genesis 3:23, we’ve been a nomadic people, condemned to a life of drifting. I guess you could say, moving is a direct result of the Fall. Our longing for home stems from the reality that we lost the only one we ever had. No matter what state we spend most of our time in, we’ve all got the same problem—none of us have ever been home. And none of us ever will be, at least not in this life.

“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)

Finally.

So, I guess that answers the question, once and for all. Evidently, for those of us who are in Christ, it will be much easier to unpack, than it was to pack.