Back when I was in Navy, packing up and moving around the country on a regular basis was pretty much the norm. I remember one time; I had been living in Charleston, SC for about a year and a half and I was given orders to a training facility in upstate NY. Unlike most assignments, I knew that this school was only going to last for six months before it was time to move again. Because the time that I would be there was so short, and because the workdays (and workweeks) were long, I was encouraged not to buy a house or distract myself with hobbies or other non-work related activities while I was there. It was best just to rent a temporary place and not get to comfortable or collect too much stuff because I would just be packing up and leaving soon and the Navy will not pay to move a lot of junk. Once I got to New York I found out exactly how good the advice I was given really was. The workdays were 12 hours long, 6 days a week and by the end of the day, I was ready to go to bed. When it was all over, I was ready to leave. I got my orders, left my rental, and moved on to my new station.

It’s funny how we can look back at a small part of our lives and God can use it to help put things in perspective for us. In this case, my short stint in NY reminds me that our time here is short. It’s not wise to devote our time to collecting a lot of useless garbage that we can’t take with us. As entertaining as it may be, it’s nothing more than a distraction. We have a job to do, a purpose to focus on. God will provide us with what we need while we are here. And while we are responsible for what we have and what he gives us, that should not be our focus. We have something much better to look forward to when our job is done.

After training in NY, my new orders were to Norfolk, VA. While it wasn’t exactly heaven, it was much better than NY. I had time to get married, buy a house and settle down with my wife and plan a family. It made me realize how right my chain of command had been in telling me not to get too comfortable in NY.

“Each man’s life is but a breath”  Psalm 39:5