I was going through a very stressful time. The temptation to move, to "get a fresh start", was enticing. On a lark, I emailed Fr Hopko (I did not know him) to ask for advice, never thinking I would get a reply, mostly just wanting to organize my thoughts by writing them down. He did reply. I found his words quite helpful then and many times since, perhaps you will too:
"...God can move us. But so can our own will, and/or the devil. So the safe and wise thing is to stay put until it becomes irresistibly clear that it is the Lord that desires and is enabling the move that can't be resisted. E.g. See the third saying of St. Anthony the Great in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Also the familiar teaching of the fathers: "A tree constantly transplanted never bears fruit." There is never a "geographic cure." God is everywhere. And so are the demons. If we move easily, the demons will have us up and down and back and forth like a yo-yo.
The same thing goes for visions and voices: Never accept them and you'll be safe, If they are from God, you won't be able to resist them.
May the Lord guide and protect our way.
Fr Tom
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