The concept of ChangingZipCodes.com is more than a website for those relocating. It’s a metaphor for any change in one’s life. Maybe you’re slogging through a messy divorce or paddling upriver to find a new job in this economy. Possibly you’ve lost a loved one and your identity as a son, daughter, wife or husband has evaporated. Life has a way of throwing us curve balls when we least expect it. The challenge, to be prepared for handling life’s crises as you stay with the team.

It might help to picture yourself as a catcher for a baseball team. A catcher has an eye on everything going on in the game and communicates with the pitcher to devise the right strategy to get the opposing team’s batter out. The catcher has to pay attention to the game and be ready for any type of pitch – curveball, sinker, slider, fastball or the infamous knuckleball. If he’s talking with the ump or daydreaming about his big date that evening, he’ll miss the ball. So, as a crisis hits, the first step we need to do is pay attention to our life.

Step No. 2: Our catcher needs to have his mitt up, ready to receive the ball. The mitt, broken in through years of use and softened with oil, is his tool of trade. Always ready for action, his leather-clad hand could be the means to a win or loss for his team. As the catcher has prepared his mitt, we need to put up our mitt to catch attacks directed at us.

Thirdly, the catcher guards his head with a mask and his body with a chest protector. The head is where our mind makes important decisions and reacts to life. Like a catcher, we need to wear the mask to protect our mind. A clear head can help us make make wise, sensible choices.

The heavily-padded chest protector guards against damage to the catcher’s vital organs. A fastball zooming at him at 90 mph could do some serious damage to our catcher’s chest and torso. When we face changes we need to go out of our way to pad our lives with people who encourage and build us up.

Finally the catcher’s position, squatting behind the plate, shows he’s prepared for the game. He’s situated himself adjacent to the player up to bat. He’s not in the outfield, the infield or at second base. He’s exactly where he needs to be to help his team, and he’s always there. When Woody Allen said “80 percent of success is showing up,” he was right. Our catcher knows his position. It’s home plate and he’d better show up there.

So, when life flips you over like a pancake turner, remember to 1) pay attention, 2) keep your mitt on, 3) strap on your vest and face mask, and 4) stay in position. In times of upheaval, consistency and dependability in your routine will see you through. Get back to home plate. Your team is depending on you.

Note: For a different and much better version on learning to be being prepared, check out Ephesians 6:10-18 in the New Testament. These verses give very helpful and practical advise.

If my adventuresome spirit comes from anywhere, it comes from my great-grandfather, Fred Montrose. What a perfect month to share his “moving” story.

Born in Ireland, Fred Murphy must have kissed the blarney stone. As a young man he moved to England to seek his fortune and adopted the aristocratic name of Montrose to find a job (as the English had no use for the Irish in those days).  In England, he used his gift of gab to talk his way onto a sailing ship, assuring the captain of his vast experience on the high seas. He ended up in Ohio, marrying my great-grandmother and my grandmother, Grace Montrose was born.

Not one to stay in one place, he took journalism jobs in Ohio, Boston, Massachusetts and Colorado. When my grandmother’s mother died, this king of blarney took my grandmother to see the Montrose Castle where she could experience her “English” roots. She died, never knowing her maiden name was really Murphy.

In his later years, Montrose sent his uncopyrighted sheet music to Hollywood. He never heard back from the film industry but to his surprise, he would hear his music being played from the silver screen as he sat in a darkened theater. Oh those missed royalty checks!

A widower for many years, he finally moved to California’s Central Valley where he shaved 10 years off of his age and married his second wife. He lived out the rest of his life with his second family in the beautiful orange groves of Porterville, California.

Fred typifies so many immigrants who came to this country. Armed with optimism, he, like many, looked for a better life for their family. They moved with a greater purpose and at great cost, leaving those they loved back in the old country.

If you’re looking for a way to help people, look no further than this blog. Americans move an average of once every eight years so it’s easy to find a newcomer within your community. September is an especially opportune month for helping those newbies in your community as the new school year begins.

Here are some tips to find newcomers who would love a friendly smile

1)      Ring the doorbell on the door where a moving van is parked. A quick “Hi, welcome to the community,” is enough for those directing furniture in their house. If you are really brave and live nearby, leave your email address or a phone number for any questions about the community. …Go ahead, be brave and bold!

2)      Talk to the teachers in your child’s class. See if anyone has moved recently. Then, teach your child how to show hospitality by talking to that new kid and including them in any group plans. (Do I hear an over-stressed, newly relocated mother in the background weeping and crying, “Yes,”?).

3)      Direct newcomers to www.ChangingZipCodes.com especially to the article,

     A Remodeled Life. It’s the times of upheavls that make us think about our values in life.  Yes, this is an unabashed plug but it’s all for a good cause, helping newcomers adjust to a community.

I need lots of volunteers to join this army of encouragers. Please sign up and help. No dues required, no junk mail, sent and I don’t sell your phone number.  I have you on my email list because you have been supportive of this website in the past. Thanks for being there!

Special Note: I will have some personal stories from women who have recently moved and want to share their stories. Watch for PeggySue, and Laura in future blogs. These talented, professional writers have their own insights into the moving game.

January 15th, 2009

Pat moved to a new state and a new town, Wayne, Illinois. Hopeful for new friends, she waited  daily for someone to knock on her door and welcome her to her new home. Days passed without a single person to acknowledge her presence in the neighborhood.  Finally a few years later she met a woman who invited her to a Bible study. Intrigued by something special she saw in this woman, she visited the group. At the study she met someone else, her Heavenly Father and life changed.  She found a new purpose for her life. Pat created a program called “Welcome to Wayne”.
Pat Schiltz explains in her own words:

“Over a 22 year period I have had the privilege and pleasure of welcoming more than 1000 new families to Wayne with useful information about our community.Included are a map of Wayne and a neighborhood map specific to the newcomer’s location, a private Wayne Directory of names + addresses + phone number, some history about our village, and additional information on local organizations.  Also available is a list of babysitters, and “Garden Gatherings” in the summer for Wayne women to get to know one another. My favorite part is networking each woman interested into knowing others in Wayne. The most exciting part for me was inviting women to “check out” our Bible study as a way of meeting other women in the community, even if they decided not to continue for long.However, most women did stay and many have come to know Jesus as their BEST friend!

Since 1987 this petite, energetic mother of two has welcomed one thousand families to Wayne, Illinois. Did you all catch that one—-ONE THOUSAND FAMILIES, 1,000 FAMILIES! How did she do it? One hand shake at a time. What power found by one woman taking a painful experience (loneliness) and turning it into a positive ministry for newcomers.

Most of us may not be able to become a one woman welcoming committee to every newcomer in town. What we can do, though, is to pick out one recent transplant and extend the hand of friendship. It take so little to change a community: a phone call, a ride, a batch of cookies. I encourage all my  readers to choose one newcomer to befriend in this new year of 2009. I don’t know about you, but as a veteran mover, I blinked back tears while reading Pat Schiltz’s story. I remember as a young mother looking high and low for a friendly face. I just wish I had moved to Wayne Illinois. I know I would have found a dear friend.

www.ChangingZipCodes.com salutes Pat Schiltz, a woman who nurtures the newcomer.  I’m sure she’ll have a place next to St. Peter when she welcomes many into heaven.
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Do you know someone doing an exceptional job welcoming and befriending newcomers. I’d love to hear your stories.

Yours for a good year,
a good move,
and a good hearty handshake to those “newcomers” in your life.
Love,
Carol