More From Myrna Conrad

My meditation entitled “Moving with God” was my first contribution to The Upper Room. It was so hard to express everything I wanted to say within 300 words, so I was excited to get the email asking if I would like to blog more information about myself and my meditation. 

As I shared in my meditation, my husband and I have moved over 21 times in our 48 years of marriage.  We have lived in 12 different states (some more than once), and we lived in two different places in Germany. 

I grew up living in the same place most of my life, so moving was something very different for me.  Moving leaves one feeling unsure and vulnerable.  It means leaving everything that is comfortable and familiar behind, sometimes family members, friends, church family, doctors, dentists, children’s schools, and knowing where everything you need is located. 

However, I believe that relocating all of these times was exactly what God had planned for my life.  I am the type person who does not like change.  Therefore, I would not have willingly stepped out of my comfort zone to change and grow.  Here are some of the things I have learned through “moving with God:”

• First and foremost, I learned to trust God in the unknown.  I didn’t know what friends we might make or what friends my children might be exposed to.  I didn’t know if we would find a church that was a wonderful as the one we were leaving.  I didn’t know where we would live, where I would shop, or who would be my neighbors.  However, God already knew all of that.  He had all of that planned before I even knew we were moving.  The more times we moved, the less stressed I became, because I knew that God had it all worked out already.
• I learned the importance of family.  We have a daughter and son, and with each move the four of us were all we initially had in a new place.   We learned to better consider each other and depend on each other through our many moves.
• I learned the importance of the church (fellow believers in Christ).  We always found a church very soon after moving, and it was through the connections with other believers that we found friendship, community, and advice on how best to find what was needed in the area. 
• I learned diversity.  I learned that there are so many different and good people in this world.  I learned what it means for God to look not at the outward appearance of a person, but at their heart. 
•  I got to see so much of God’s beautiful Creation.  I got to visit places and see things that I had never even dreamed of.  Each place was different and yet had so much for me to experience and learn.
• I’ve learned how very much God loves me and my family.  I can look back now and see things in each move that helped each of us to grow and become more of who God created us to be.  Only God could have orchestrated some of the amazing things that have happened in my family.

These are just a few of the things I have learned from moving often.  There are so many more lessons God has taught me through being willing to move with God.  Jeremiah 29:11-13 has definitely become my life’s passage.