As a teenager, I spent a lot of time day-dreaming. I imagined myself with the love of my life, settled, teaching piano, and living in the same place that I had lived most of my life. I expected my life to be fairly predictable.
It has been everything but predictable...and hardly settled.
So much of my adult life has been spent in the in between:
In between schools
In between jobs
In between cities
In between states
In between singlehood and marriage
In between houses
In between churches…
...you get the picture.
I am a planner by nature and am NOT a fan of the in between. I like to get organized. For example, it is only Wednesday, and I am already itching to make plans for the weekend. I want to do things today in order to make sure that the things I want to do or accomplish over the weekend actually happen the way I want them to. But there are details about the future that I do not know; so I cannot make plans.
I get so restless in the in between. Anxious. Frustrated. Irritated. I seek any way in which I can move myself OUT of the in between. Then I just get more frustrated because there is nothing I can do to change my circumstances.
So what is the alternative?
I have been thinking about Israel this week. God had taken them out of their dark life in Egypt. They were finally free from bondage. And on top of their freedom, God had promised them a gorgeous place to live in. But before they reached their paradise on earth, God put them in a place that was far from desirable. Hot. Dry. Desolate. Definitely not an in between that is pleasant to exist in.
But in this place of uncertainty and discomfort, the Israelites got to see and experience some really cool stuff!
A pillar of cloud that showed them the way
A pillar of fire to light their nights
Food that fell from the sky
Water rushing out of a rock
They got to experience God’s leadership, guidance, and provision.
As I live in this in between, I am keeping my eyes wide open. I don’t want to miss how God may be revealing Himself to me.