Many people do not like change because it involves the unknown, which most people fear. Hence, they reject any changes in their lives.

There was a time in my life when I refused to move from my comfort zone and so I would remain complacent in my circumstances even when such situations were no longer meeting my needs.

The Lord taught me how to embrace change and how to utilize it to my advantage.

I lived in Tortola for the past thirteen years and I have moved from one apartment to another at least five times. Every time I moved I received a blessing.

However, let me tell you a secret, the blessings were already present in my life.

But, it was only when I moved or when I shifted from an old surrounding to a new one that I recognized my blessings.

My first move took place in 2006 when I transferred from a two-bedroom apartment to a three-bedroom apartment in the same area.

I moved from my first apartment because the environment was unhealthy for my son.

It was during this move that I came face to face with all the clutter in my life.

In my previous blog post, I mentioned that I was so overwhelmed with the new environment and the additional income, that I went on an internet shopping spree.

Well, if you purchase a lot of household stuff you have to store them somewhere.

When I first moved into my two-bedroom apartment in 2001, I had only two beds and a couple chairs.

My kitchen cupboards were empty and my living room and bedrooms were basically empty.

I, therefore, felt a desperate need to fill those empty spaces and I did so with much enthusiasm.

But, it was not only the empty spaces in my house that I was trying to fill with material things.

I was also trying to fill the empty void in my life. Each package that I bought online, I considered it a gift to give me happiness.

However, this joy was temporary and I would quickly return to a depressive state, which I then tried to overcome by shopping online once again.

This became a desperate cycle.

Eventually, all the empty spaces in my kitchen cupboard were filled with almost every type of appliances, from a snow cone maker to a water bottle dispenser/cooler.

But, the emptiness in my heart remained.

Every day I would surf the web to find all the ‘so-called’ bargains.

The online auction, eBay, was my favorite shopping site. I was eventually known by some of my co-workers as the ‘eBay Queen.’

I also became a member of ten different online book clubs so that I could purchase books and merchandise on credit.

Soon every crevice and corner of my house was filled with something. I had books in abundance which were displayed on every available surface and also packed in bags and boxes.

I lived with this clutter for five years but was unable to visualize it until I decided to move.

It was then that my eyes were opened to the magnitude of the chaotic clutter and my overspending.

When my friends who were helping me to move took out the larger pieces of furniture out of the apartment, the entire apartment floor was covered with kitchen appliances, books, toys, you name it, I have it.

One of my friends was alarmed and asked me why I had so many things. I was speechless with embarrassment.

What was I doing with so many things in a country which was not my permanent home?

Most importantly, why did I need so many things?

This was my wake-up call. I immediately recognized that I had a problem that I could not solve. I needed to de delivered!

The Lord came to my rescue and delivered me from senseless shopping and He also filled the void in my heart with His Word.

For me to be cured of my bad spending habits, I had to move or change from an old environment to a new one.

It was then that I came face to face with my problem and sought help from the Lord and was delivered.

The Lord taught me how to budget. One of the first instructions that the Lord gave me was to return my two credit cards to the bank and convert the credit balance into a loan.

Without the credit cards, I was unable to shop online and so I was able to repay my loan in four years.

As a result of my bad spending habits, I suffered the consequences of poverty. I was unable to save because all my salary went into paying bills and loans.

I dropped to the bottom of a financially dry pit!

During this dry season, the Lord told me that I should neither borrow nor beg, but rather live within my means.

Anything that I could not afford I had to learn to live without.

My salary did not increase, but the cost of living did.

So in order for me to stay afloat, I had to slowly remove all the things that I could live without and focus on those things that were necessary for life.

For example, water and electricity were a necessity, but the internet, telephones, and cable TV were not basic needs so they were the first to go.

Then, I packed in boxes all the unnecessary kitchen gadgets and stuff that I accumulated over the years and sold them at the yearly yard sale.

It took me three years to get rid of all the clutter.

When I reflected upon this past experience I realized how much God loves me and He cares about every aspect of my life. 

Change is sometimes hard to do, but there is a blessing that awaits you when you decide to move from one position of complacency or from a place of unhappiness and discontent to a new and different environment.

When you move physically your spirit will move also and you will see things in a different light.

The bible tells us about Abraham who moved from familiar to the unfamiliar and received the greatest blessing of all times.

This blessing transcends to our generation, the future generations and even beyond the grave.

Do you like changes?

Share with me your experience.