¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

The sentiment behind this verse has been uppermost on my mind recently. In September we made our tenth move in twenty-five years. This time, it wasn’t because my husband had a new role, but rather, our accommodation was deemed unfit for purpose. In March a letter came to say everyone in our military subdivision ordered to move out by Christmas. More than virtually any other move, this one drove us to our knees. Apparently there wasn’t any accommodation we could have to keep us in the catchment area for some key doctor’s offices.

A five-month battle ensued. All going on while my mom was in her final stage of life, three hundred miles away. Serving the Lord wasn’t low priority, but it was tricky given the pulls on my time and emotional capacity. Instead, the goal became fostering an attitude that would serve the Lord, hence being propelled to the knees. 

Dodgy humor

As the movers were cracking course jokes, I managed to yell “Hey, I write Christian fiction. You need to stop with that talk before you pack my theology books.” I could have been straight faced and offended, but instead, with a side of humor, my rough moving crew thought writing Christian fiction (a mostly unheard-of genre here) wasn’t stuffy, and instead that Mrs. H was pretty funny. Given that I fed them treats and made plenty of tea and coffee, I think we ended with them on a high and hopefully, as my closing thanks included comments on them being a godsend with their work ethic, something to think about. 

The way the move was handled by external forces did make it much harder than most of the others (even the two I made across oceans while pregnant). This time, I humbly asked our small group to help twice and they did. My favorite moment being when instead of meeting to discuss the sermon, worship and pray, they gathered at our new house, the day we moved in, and helped us unpack the kitchen and dining room, then prayed over us and the new home, dedicating all to the service of the Lord. 

Willing hearts

The first time we hosted anyone, the house was not in any way fit for guests, but we could offer everyone a drink and a warm and grateful welcome. I have to think this is how a household serves the Lord. By following His will front and center, not always spotless and neat, but with a willing heart. A house built on prayer and open to all is surely the best type of home I can strive to create. I acknowledge as in months before the move, that’s not always possible, for many reasons. One solution then, is to remember we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, His bodily household if you will, and we can pray and ask the Lord to build His house within us. And my prayer is that the house each of you can be, will never be shaken.