Thoughts on Moving

Last year I moved for the 35th time in my life. I relocated to a new home and a new city.

When I reflect on my lifetime of moves, I have never been one that ever wished to move back to some place I left. I know some who always wish they were back at a place they had left. It is sad to live that way. I have learned to adjust and be content where I am at the moment.

The only time in my life when I did not want to move was after my sophomore year in high school. I protested the move because I wanted to finish high school there. Unfortunately my dad decided it was God’s will for us to move to another church and another city.

Perhaps the most challenging move was when my wife and I moved to Tampa. It was nothing like we had expected. After the first month we wanted to move. It eventually took two years.

Moving has always been a part of my life. I never really had a physical place to call home. From an early age I learned that moving was a part of my life. I attended 10 different schools in 12 years. I was always the new kid at church and school. I had to learn to be good at adjusting to change.

They say that people who move around a lot can be called nomads, vagabonds, globetrotters, or itinerants, often driven by jobs, wanderlust, or a need for change, leading to adaptability but potentially shallower roots and relationships. Modern terms include digital nomads, while traditional groups like nomadic tribes follow seasonal patterns for resources, but many people today move for personal reasons like adventure or boredom.

Even as I sit here now, I know we will move again. I don’t know when and I don’t know where yet. Some of our family are upset that we have moved but making these decisions to relocate are never easy decisions.

So when and where will the next move be? I don't know but there will be another move.

I often wonder if I would prefer a cottage on the beach somewhere or another stare or even another country. I still remember our trip to Europe several years ago and remember my favorite place located in Weggis, Switzerland. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen. Mark Twain thought so too when he visited it. Could the next move but further up into a New England state? We really loved our visits to Newport, Rhode Island and Ogunguit, Maine last year.

The only thing I am certain of is that there will be another move at some point in the future.

Thoughts About Church

I am not against church. I know sometimes in my previous posts it seems that way. I can only speak of my own experience and sadly it isn’t good. If you attend church and that’s something you need then do it. I’m not discouraging you from doing that at all. We all have to make our own way. 

I haven’t attended church in over 10 years. Don’t worry, I’m still a believer and I won’t say that I would never go back. For now, it isn’t part of my life. For the first 45 years of my life church was a major part of my life and the center of my universe.

So why did I leave? Did someone hurt my feelings? No.

Honestly I was floundering and felt lost. I started feeling worse when I left church than when I arrived. I was miserable and something had to change.

I made some life changes and I went in a different direction for me. I left the church but I didn’t leave God. You have to understand how the church had controlled my life to that point. It was suffocating me. I had to break free of that and find the person I needed to be.

I know the Bible talks about not forsake the assembling but you can’t expect everyone to be lumped into church going believers. I honestly don’t think that having any church attendance records is something that God expects of us.

I still have friends that I grew up with in the church who are either pastors or faithfully attending church. I have the utmost respect for them. There is certainly nothing wrong with them. As I stated earlier, we all have to make our own way. Life is challenging and takes us in many directions.

Regardless if we go to church or not, the important thing is ultimately our personal relationship with God. I would never make a blanket statement over what people do to remain faithful in their dedication as a believer.

Attending church offers significant benefits for many, but it's ultimately a personal decision, and a deep spiritual life is possible through various paths, including community engagement outside of a physical building.

When You Are Crushed in Spirit

I still remember the moment when my spirit was crushed. I was riding home from work when it happened. The details aren’t important but that moment was a pivotal point in my life. It caused my life to change course.

What does it mean to be crushed in spirit?

It is the event or situation which breaks the emotional glass in your soul. It is more than just being hurt, it is a trigger moment in life. It is something that crushes you so deeply that you either let it destroy you or you decided to make changes in your life.

Crushed in spirit" describes a state of total emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion caused by intense grief, trauma, or unrelenting life struggles. Often referencing Psalm 34:18, this condition involves a broken will, loss of hope, and profound sorrow. It signifies being overwhelmed to the point of feeling unable to cope, yet the Bible promises divine closeness and healing for those in this state.

A crushed spirit is when you are broken, wounded, or defeated spirit, described as feeling "at the end of one's rope".

In my case, I chose to make a change. It was drastic. I’m sure people who knew me at the time only know their outside view of it but none of them saw the shift inside of me.

I think we all have these moments in our lives. Something will either crush us or prod us to change direction. That one moment. The final straw to forces you to examine your life and become bitter or better.

Having been through this moment, I have some things to share with you about how to handle it.

#1 - Find a place to examine your life.

Make the time to get away by yourself. Maybe a long weekend at the beach or just any place where you can have time to think. It must be a place where you can do some serious soul searching.

#2 - Don’t worry about what other people will think.

Sometimes we are too concerned about pleasing everyone else that we forget to be happy. We worry too much about what people will think about us.

#3 - Decide what you want to do and do it.

When you know the path you want to take - do it. Don’t waffle about it. Decide to be who you are. You might have to burn some bridges so you won’t be tempted to go back.

#4 - Don’t give up if the changes get hard.

Making changes won’t be easy don’t allow the difficult things to discourage you. It isn't an easy thing to rebuild a crushed spirit and it takes time.

When you are crushed in spirit, you don’t have to stay crushed. Find a way to rise above it and renew your mind and spirit. You might find that in the end it was worth it.

I look back now nearly 15 years later that I made the right decision and I took a new course in my life. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I am living the life I am supposed to be living. I am exactly where I should be. I have no regrets. Did I do everything right? No, but I had to figure it out along the way.

Having your spirit crushed isn’t the end. It could be a new beginning.