Packing Up Faith - My Everyday Life

Have you ever noticed that when God calls you to leave a familiar place, He rarely gives us the whole map? We want details, timelines, guarantees, and more. But God usually gives us a direction, then He asks us to trust Him. For us, Carmen and I, it was like packing up faith into boxes for the upcoming journey.

packing up faith is an act of obedience — Packing faith in boxes.

Looking back now, Chapter 5 of When Love Found Me, my book, which is in progress, was one of those seasons. We knew God was calling us forward. We just didn’t know exactly where He was taking us.

And that’s often how faith works.

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Leaving What We Loved

Isaiah 43:19

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

For years, Carmen and I had talked about moving south. Like many Midwesterners in the middle of winter, we’d laugh about trading snow shovels for palm trees.

But when the time finally came, we realized something. This wasn’t really about Florida. It wasn’t about warmer weather. And it wasn’t even about a new beginning. It was about obedience.

Our youngest had graduated from high school, and our business was stable after a lot of hard work. The timing seemed right.

Yet beneath all the excitement were questions we couldn’t answer.

Like:

Would we find community?
Would we find a church family?
Or would we thrive in a place where we knew almost no one?
And, would we clearly hear God’s voice in this next season?

The truth is, we didn’t know the answers to any of this. But we knew enough to take the next step. And sometimes that’s all faith requires.

Faith Packed in Boxes

Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

One evening, while packing, Carmen rested her hands on a box marked “Fragile.” She looked at me and quietly said, “This feels like we’re boxing up our whole life.”

I nodded. Because in many ways, we were. Every box held more than possessions. It held memories, Christmas mornings, family game nights, and conversations around the dinner table. The ordinary moments that quietly become part of who we are.

As we packed, I had a thought that has stayed with me ever since:

Faith isn’t faith until you have to pack it in boxes.

It’s easy to trust God when everything stays familiar. It’s harder when the future is wrapped in uncertainty and loaded onto a moving truck.

When Everything Goes Sideways

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Then came moving day. Actually, it started the night before moving day.

The giant U-Haul was packed to the gills. The plan was set. The boys were ready – our oldest and youngest were helping with the move. Even our dog Weegee, the best dog ever, was ready.

With everything packed but a few essentials, we were ready to hit the road the next morning. I just needed to run a few quick errands that evening before getting a good night’s rest before the trip.

As Weegee and I were out on our errand runs, my phone rang.

A U-Haul representative informed me that the State Police were looking for me because my U-Haul had been involved in an accident.

The only problem?

My U-Haul was parked in front of my house. I explained to the representative that, in fact, I wasn’t even in the U-Haul, so I knew it hadn’t been in a wreck. The U-Haul was still in front of my house.

That’s when the representative explained to me that the wreck was in front of my house.

When I arrived home, it looked like a low-budget action movie. The truck was damaged. The trailer that would be hauling my Jeep behind the U-Haul was damaged. Another vehicle was damaged and, in fact, didn’t even have the front right wheel attached any longer.

Police lights flashed. And suddenly our perfectly planned move looked anything but perfect.

I remember standing there thinking, “Seriously, Lord? Now?”

Have you ever had one of those moments? The ones where you’re trying to follow God, and everything still seems to go wrong? The moments that make you wonder if obedience is supposed to be this complicated?

Yet looking back, I see something now that I couldn’t see then. The obstacles weren’t evidence that God wasn’t leading. They were opportunities to trust Him anyway.

What God Was Doing Underneath

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.

At the time, I thought we were moving to Florida. Now I know we were stepping into something much bigger.

We thought we were changing addresses – God was changing direction.

We thought we were relocating – God was preparing.

He was preparing our marriage, our faith, our hearts, and a future we couldn’t yet imagine.

Chateau Mariposa didn’t exist. The coaching opportunities ahead were still unseen. This blog wasn’t part of the plan. The Forge wasn’t on my radar.

But God knew. What felt like uncertainty to us was preparation to Him. He was laying foundations we couldn’t see and building rooms in a future house we hadn’t even imagined yet.

The Gift Hidden in the Goodbye

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.

Looking back now, I realize the hardest part wasn’t moving. It was letting go. Letting go of certainty, comfort, and our version of life that I thought would always remain.

Yet every meaningful season of growth seems to require the same thing. A willingness to release what was so we can receive what God is doing next. The truth is, God often asks us to leave something good before He reveals something greater.

Not because He’s taking something from us, but because He’s leading us somewhere.

A Simple Invitation

Maybe you’re standing in a season like that right now. Maybe you aren’t moving across the country. But perhaps God is asking you to leave something familiar.

Maybe it’s a role or a routine. Or maybe it’s a dream or a plan. A version of life you thought would always stay the same.

And maybe you’re struggling because you can’t see what comes next. I understand. I’ve been there. And what I’ve learned is this:

God rarely gives us the whole map. But He always gives us enough for the next step.

Challenge of the Week

This week, ask yourself: What am I struggling to release? A season, a dream, fear, a plan, or a comfort zone? Then pray this simple prayer: “Lord, help me carry the past with gratitude and walk into the future with faith.” Because faith isn’t knowing exactly where God is taking you. Faith is trusting the One who does. And sometimes the greatest act of faith isn’t moving across the country. It’s simply saying: “Yes, Lord. I’ll follow.” So be it.

This is the 6th post in the series, When Love Found Me. Here are the other posts: