Moving Away or Moving Towards?

Monday Ministerial Musings

By Rev. Mark William Ennis

2021 Blog Number 43

October 25, 2021

Moving Away or Moving Towards?

After I was born I came home to my parent’s house, was put in a bedroom, and there I stayed until I left for college. Moving was not anything I had experienced although I did observe it. In grammar school, I lived in the midst of “white flight” from Jersey City. They were fleeing the increasing movement of non-whites into the neighborhood. The non-whites who were moving in, loved moving to a safer neighborhood, yet their enthusiasm was curbed when they realized that not every white was welcoming to non-whites. Some people were moving away from something, and others were moving toward something.

This week I am helping a distinguished elder in our congregation move from her independent living apartment into a memory care unit. She isn’t moving from anything, she is running toward a better place with more appropriate care.

Also, this week, I am helping my daughter relocate to a new apartment and soon she will be starting a new job. Is she moving away from or moving toward something? Maybe it is both. When I speak to immigrants they often tell me that they are always moving toward what they believe is a better life, but they are always moving away from difficulties in their home countries.

Most of our lives we are moving away from, as well as moving toward something. Like the ancient Israelites at the Red Sea, not only were they moving from slavery, but they were also moving toward the promise of a rich land for them to inhabit. Moving is, perhaps, always away and toward.

The real question for us in our movements is whether God is directing our movements? Are we moving without inquiring from God where God wants us to be or do we ask God first when it is time to go and where we ought to go? Do we make our moves based on our wisdom or God’s wisdom? “Moving from or moving toward” is not really the question. The question is “where does God want to leave and to where does God wish us to come?” Do we ask that question enough? If we get into the wrong place, perhaps it is because we fail to ask this important question.

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To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order a copy of his book:https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/