Unpacking Apples and Lemons

We finally moved into our first, new home from an Army move. To avoid complaining, I’ll just say that we are dealing with the after effects from the move and how unprofessional the move was compared to our past experiences. I had the weirdest feeling about how the move was going to go when I realized I could not find my fresh apples, lemons, and birth control pills.

I had set an area of not to pack those items, and they still got packed. I thought, that is a good way to make some fermented fruit. My birth control pills were still MIA when we arrived at our new home, and I had only two weeks left on my current pack. Fast forward to a lot of broken items and finding my birth control pills four days before my pack was empty, we are slowly getting situated in our new home and town.

I know that everything will level out, and I was pondering on how to turn this misadventure into a spiritual lesson for myself and others. I drafted this blog post four weeks ago just so that I did not rush to post new content after our move. I’d rather have time between posts for quality than immediate posts that are sub-par.

After taking some time to seek what God wanted to show me in this situation, it became obvious to me. The very first mishap on moving day was something that God needed me to experience in order to move forth in my spiritual journey. Oftentimes, it is hard to see what God wants to show us during our misadventures because we are facing the now, not the future.

While I needed the apples and lemons that were in the box that the mover packed, just leaving them in the box would have caused a complete mess if the fruits had become mashed or stayed in the box for a long time. That is how it is in our lives. We have so many things that are packed within our lives that there is no room for anything that can bring forth goodness and growth that is intended from God. We already have things that are packed within us- our sins, our struggles, and our sicknesses. And, we often add things that God never intends for our lives. When we struggle, we seek to change. But, it is completely impossible to change ourselves, even for the better, because God changes us in His time and His way.

Each day that passes by is our journey forward to eternity with God, and that is His moving day that He has total control over. The changes that come forth in our lives are the temporary destinations on Earth of God unpacking what is not needed at that moment and Him carefully packing what shapes our testimony to others.

For me, indecisiveness and anxiety needed to become unpacked, and that is a big struggle that I face from time to time. I am a work in progress, but it feels freeing to let God unwrap the things in my life that are hiding indecisiveness and anxiety because I know He will place peace into my mind and into my heart.

So, I want you to ask yourself this….

What needs to be unpacked within by God in order for me to become the person God created me to be?