By Eileen R. Kinch
In early October, my husband and I moved to Telford, PA from Ephrata, Lancaster County, PA. We had an embarrassment of help – more than we needed – to load and unload the moving truck. Most of the furniture is now where we want it, and we have unpacked many boxes. We are now figuring out how to find the things we need in our new community, such as groceries, car repair, and healthcare. Adjusting to a new place is hard work, and it takes emotional and physical energy.
Moving is also disorienting. I have lived most of my life in Lancaster County. I grew up in the southern end of Lancaster County, twelve miles from the Maryland border. I know the routes and the roads. In our new area, I don’t know where I am going most of the time. I am only starting to recognize where I am, and the other day, I considered it a victory when I found a post office.
In Genesis 12, God tells Abraham, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (12:1, JPS). I wonder how that felt for Abraham. Did he think, I am just fine where I am, thank you very much. I have everything I need. Why do I need to go somewhere else? Did he feel sad to leave his family and his home area? Did Abraham have a difficult time on his journey? Did he find it exhausting?
Moving and journeying also characterized the Israelite experience, especially after the escape from the Egyptians across the Red Sea. The Israelites moved from place to place and carried the tabernacle with them. When they reached the Promised Land, had planted crops, and were offering the first fruits of harvest, God commanded that the Israelites recite their history, beginning with these words: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous” (Deuteronomy 26:5, NIV). Even after they settled, the Israelites were supposed to remember their ancestor Jacob’s experience of wandering.
Did he think, I am just fine where I am, thank you very much. I have everything I need. Why do I need to go somewhere else?
The book of Hebrews mentions wandering as part of the journey of faith, naming Abraham, Moses, and many others: “All of them died in faith, not having obtained the things promised, but having seen and hailed them from afar, and they acknowledged themselves to be foreigners and sojourners on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13, translation by David Bentley Hart).
Sometimes God calls us to do something that requires a change of location. Often this means leaving the comfort of home. Sometimes the purpose of moving is clear to us, but other times, it is not. As we pack, unpack, and try to make our way in a new place, we may wonder if the moving and disorientation are worth the immediate (or ongoing) trouble. Yet the writer of Hebrews points out that the big picture is important, even if we don’t recognize what it is. Faith, after all, is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of unseen realities” (Hebrews 11:1).
I am grateful for the experiences of wanderers in the Bible. I am sure Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (and Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah and Rachel) asked some of the same questions I do and experienced similar feelings. Even if I feel a bit lost right now, I can still find a home in this faith story.
Eileen Kinch
Eileen Kinch is part of the Mosaic communication team and works with editing and writing. She holds a Master of Divinity degree, with an emphasis in the Ministry of Writing, from Earlham School of Religion.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.