(Excuse the liquor boxes, we lived close to a liquor store and couldn't pass up the boxes!) I've just read a book called: After the Boxes are Unpacked: Moving On After Moving In by Susan Miller (yes, I believe in bibliotherapy). Although the entire book is a good read, one thought keeps ringing in my head:
Holding on keeps me from benefiting from the new blessings God has for me.
Hmmmm....I have been totally guilty of this. (FYI, I am applying this thought to our recent move, not Olivia. I'll hold on to that little girl as long as I'm breathing.)
That brings me to this thought: What should I cherish, and what should I cling to?
Here's how the author applied the terms cherish and cling to moving:
*Cherish what was!
*Cling to what is and to what never changes!
*Cherish what you left behind!
*Cling to what you brought with you!
Cherish:
Distant Family
Distant Friends
Past Memories
Your Heritage
The Job You Left
The House You Loved
Your Roots
The Place (Town/City) You Left
Cling to:
God
The Bible
Your Faith
Prayer
God's Promises
Positive Not Negative
Your Values
Each Other
Until you let go of the past (release it) and begin to cherish it (hold in mind, treasure, hold dear), you can't cling to (cleave, hold on to, grab hold of) the present, and embrace the future.
Have I been clinging or cherishing? You decide!!!
Not calling my friends in Little Rock for over a month after we moved because it made me too sad.
Keeping Little Rock restaurant phone numbers stored in my cell phone.
Not learning my new home phone number for 2 months (total denial?).
Postponing getting a Florida driver's license for as long as possible.
Tearing up when I saw that my Arkansas tag had been replaced with our new Florida tag.
Thank goodness I found this book!!!!
7 comments:
You have no idea how much I needed to read this! I'm guilty of the same thing moving to North Carolina. I'll need to get this book.
Sounds like a great book...and since I LOVE to read, I'm thinkin' I'll have to go get that one from the library! :) And yes...guilty guilty guilty of clinging to way too many negative things of the past....I definitely need to make a list of things that need to be let go. Will you all be at Argyle tomorrow? Chad and I would love to have lunch with ya'll after church one Sunday! OH - and did you ask for my email address?...I'm thinking you did - it's lindseye@ccontheweb.com.
It has only been a short while since you moved. Dont beat yourself up over not being ready to let go of numbers in your cell phone or not being able to talk when it makes you too sad. Give yourself some time. Sounds like a great book to give you a fresh start. Still thinking about you, especially this week.
Forget Florida and move back
hey...I'm Mary Jo, Kristy's friend. I SO know what you are going through. We moved to Ohio a little more than a year and a half ago and I promise I felt all those same things and IT DOES GET BETTER! I love that book, I will be looking for it. God will continue to bless you no matter where your address is. A Florida address probably does have it's share of perks! I am so glad I found your blog! Good luck!
We miss you guys too! We are praying for you all this week. I know it can't be easy! Hope to see you soon...
Wow..thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm a bit teary from reading it.
I appreciated your comment on my blog when I talked about my difficulty transitioning to our move to Arkansas. I'm still clinging to the past, our friends, my old house, etc. I need to look into this book!!
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