4 Verses to Help You Through the Stresses of PCSing

If you’re anything like me, than you see moving as a stressful thing. There’s a huge to-do list, many things that you absolutely can’t forget, a list of things that you have to be prepared for but can’t quite yet act on, and fears of the unknown once you step foot out of your old house and into the new journey of moving to a new place. But the one thing that I really want to encourage you about as you begin the process of PCSing (permanent change of station) is that even amidst the stress, fear, exhaustion, and chaos, we serve a God who is with us the whole way and is ready to guide and lead us through the moving process if only we let Him.

In the past year, I have moved two times and am now preparing myself for a third move. With my poor husband having moved almost six times in the last year and a half, we definitely know what it’s like to deal with the stress of moving. I have made the mistake one too many times during the process of moving of focusing on the bitter rather than the sweet. I have made the mistake of trying to control every aspect of moving in a desperate attempt to protect my heart from anymore bitterness and hurt. During those times, Christ was often not the first one that I ran to about the pains that came from moving away from the people and places I love. As you might imagine, I was worse off than if I had ran to Him first.

I don’t want you to have to go through the same things when you are PCSing, especially when you’re the one dealing with most aspects of the move while you’re husband is either deployed or TDY’d (temporary duty somewhere else) or at work all day.

But how do both you and I handle the bittersweet that comes with moving? How do we handle our heart being pulled in two different directions, sad to leave but excited to go? How do we give our burdens and anxieties of moving over to God while still having to deal with the decision making and the packing and the to-do list and the unknown?

Take a second to relax and fix your eyes on Him

Before you do anything, I want you to sit down and relax. Don’t think about everything you have to do that day or the next day or the next week. Don’t think about your to-do list. Don’t think about all the sad things that come with moving. Just relax. I want you to close your eyes and fix your mind on Jesus and only Him. Whether that’s through speaking to Him, through thinking about a worship song, or thinking about some of your favorite verses. The first and best step you can take towards handling the bittersweet of moving and the chaos that comes along with it is fixing your mind and your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).

I know it can be hard to just sit and do nothing when you have so many things you need to do, so many people to see before you leave, and so many places you need to go. But it’s in those moments when we truly relax our mind, take our focus off our stress and place it on Christ that we put our minds and ourselves in the right mindset to then conquer the upcoming move.

Look through some of these verses and meditate on it, even while you’re packing

I want to give you a few verses that have helped me tremendously as I began (and begin) to feel overwhelmed with moving, as I think about all the people I’m going to miss, as I think about the many unknown new things coming up ahead, and as I think about all the change (one of the hardest things for me).

1. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”

This is a great verse to know that we can literally throw our anxieties and burdens on the Lord. What I’ve started doing in regards to moving/PCSing is I act like I am holding my anxieties of moving, my fears, and my bittersweets and I throw my hands forward as if I am literally throwing my anxieties and burdens on the Lord. But I can only cast so many burdens. I can only focus on so many anxieties in a day. As you cast your burdens on the Lord, only focus on today. Then tomorrow, you can cast them on Him again as you start a new day (Matthew 6:34). Looking too far down the road can be dangerous. It can leave you feeling overwhelmed and defeated. It is much more manageable to handle each day at a time, daily casting your burdens on the Lord. And as you do, He will sustain you.

2. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

I always wondered why Peter mentioned humbling ourselves before the fact of casting our anxieties on God. I’m pretty excited because I just learned why. One reason that I struggle with being anxious of moving and of change is because I get punched in the face with the realization that I have little control. I have little control about the ease of moving. I have little control of knowing the unknowns in the future. And I have little control over the realistic emotions that come along with moving. It wasn’t until I read Louie Giglio’s “Putting An ‘X’ Through Anxiety” that I realized that I am to let go of my pride and my foolish need to control these sort of things in order to fully cast my anxieties on Him. We are to humble ourselves before God, recognizing He is the one in control of all things. Once we finally recognize that, our anxieties about anything will be cast on Him. (Also, I highly recommend getting this little devotional book. It’s only a few dollars and it’s amazing!)

3. Romans 8:37 says, “No, in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.”

YOU ARE A CONQUEROR! Just let that sink in for a moment. Because of Jesus Christ, you are a conqueror of anything and everything. Which means… you can conquer this moving season, you can conquer these bittersweet feelings, and you can conquer the stress that comes with the chaos of moving.

4. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understand, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.”

I’m sure you have heard this verse many times in regards to not being worried or anxious or stressed. If you haven’t, this verse is an AMAZING verse because it really speaks to who God is. It shows that He is a God who cares tremendously for us. It shows that we serve a God who we can completely and totally rest in and have peace from to the point of not having to be anxious or worried or stressed about ANYTHING. As I’m writing this, I am just thinking about how we all need this reminder, whether we’ve heard this verse for the first time or whether this is the thousandth time we’ve heard it. I can most definitely tell you that I need this reminder!

There are many other verses in the Bible that are great for us to meditate on (and I’d love to hear what helps you as your PCSing and dealing with the stress of moving). I want to encourage you to spend some time finding some of God’s words that speak directly to you that you can hold on to during your moving season.

Now what?

So we’ve looked at two things that you can do to reset your mind and place your focus on Him. But how do we apply that when we are actually having to look at our to-do list and check things off? How do we apply these things when we’re in those last days of saying our goodbyes and looking to the unknown?

I wish I had a step by step for how to make it through like a champ. But even though I don’t have the perfect “how to,” you can still make it through as a conqueror. The best thing I can tell you is that when you’re struggling with your bittersweets or when you’re becoming overwhelmed but you can’t stop what you’re doing, turn your eyes to Christ. Bring those verses that you memorized and tucked away in your mind to the very front. Pray those verses as you’re packing, as you’re saying your goodbyes, and as you’re checking off the never ending list of things to do.

Pray the verses that help you deal with moving

I know it’s easier said than done. I’m currently struggling with the bittersweets. And other than using a ton of my Stress Away essential oils, the best thing I’ve found is to turn to Him. I have been constantly reminded of that lately through a number of different sources. I don’t know about you, but there are times that I wish there were easy 1, 2, 3 steps for me to take to completely get rid of the stress and the bittersweets and make this process SO much easier. But in reality, the one step “how to” is to turn to Christ and rely on Him through this process.

_____________

PCSing is hard, especially if you’re the military wife that has to do most of the packing and preparation. But there is hope. You’re not alone. Not only do you have the most amazing God to lead you through this (Psalm 23), but you have a community of Christian military wives around the world that have gone through the same thing and are going through the same things. And I know they would love to help you through this time (I’m one of them:D).

Remember, you are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you:)

Pin these pictures and share with your friends!