Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Phil. 4:4)
IT WAS TIME for another move. Amanda had come to accept the fact that moving was just something her family did. She had been a pastor’s wife for ten years, but constant relocating hadn’t grown easier with the passing years. Now another move was at hand, and Amanda feared it would be the most difficult one. Her children were older and had formed closer relationships with their friends. To see her children mourn the move was almost more painful than her own feelings of grief.
Amanda has been talking to her family daily and trying to get them excited about living in a new place. She tries to give her children and herself reasons to be joyful about a new start. Yet, she struggles to believe what she is trying to get her children to believe. When she starts to feel weary, she reminds herself of Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
Amanda knows it is difficult to find joy in her situation. She is leaving her home and will miss the comforts she has come to know. More than anything, she hates to see her children struggle. However, she also believes Philippians 4:4 is leading her to practice joy.
Practice having a heavenly perspective and expect that perspective to lodge permanently in your heart.
Amy Knepp is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University and is a stay-at-home mother of four children.
