“I like to say a move is something a woman feels and a man does,” says Susan Miller, founder and president of Just Moved Ministries in Scottsdale, Arizona. Susan speaks from firsthand experience. After being uprooted 14 times for her husband’s career, Susan finally found herself at a breaking point when her family was transferred to Phoenix.

“It was the hardest move of all,” she admits. “We’d always lived in the South, so instead of grits, there was guacamole. Instead of green grass, there were rocks. Instead of trees, there were saguaro cacti. After the transfer, I began to fall apart. I had plenty of information on the physical aspects of relocating,” she adds, “but I didn’t find anything that addressed my emotional and spiritual needs.”

Those needs led Susan to create a 13-week curriculum for a newcomers class she taught at her church in 1987. Based on the principles she gleaned from God’s Word and her experiences, she talked about the process of letting go and moving ahead. “I knew I wasn’t alone in my struggles. More than 44 million people move each year,” says Susan. “When you’re uprooted, you feel as though your entire life is in brown boxes; you don’t feel as though you belong. I wanted to help other women going through what I went through to come out the other side in one piece. And I wanted them to find hope and encouragement in Jesus Christ in the midst of adjusting to their new home.”

Susan’s classes grew in popularity; they became the springboard for the publication of her two books, After the Boxes Are Unpacked and But Mom, I Don’t Want to Move! (both Focus on the Family). Before long, Just Moved Ministries, incorporated as a nonprofit, in 1995, was birthed. Today it has a growing national and international presence and offers classes, neighborhood groups, resources such as books, DVDs, and journals, phone coaching, networking, and most importantly, a listening ear to the many women in transition. “Call us and we’ll offer prayer support and an understanding heart, because all our staff volunteers understand what you’re going through,“ says Susan. “We can listen, listen, listen–and help you realize you’re not alone.”

Church pastors and women’s ministry leaders are beginning to catch the vision for the ministry potential of this outreach to women and their families. “God has taken this ministry and magnified it; we’re in 24 countries and we reach anywhere there are military and corporate moves,” Susan adds. “If you’ve been uprooted, go to our website and see where classes are located so you can plug in.”

For more information on Just Moved Ministries, call toll-free 1-866-JUSTMOVED, or visit its website, www.justmoved.org

©Copyright May/June 2007
Copyright material is used here as a resource for movers and should not be reprinted without first obtaining a Permission To Reprint from the publisher/author.