The Land Between
There is an experience that is common among us.
There is an experience that, once we’ve had a few birthdays, we know well but rarely speak about.
This experience is one we identify with deeply, and it’s the reason there are so many more quotes about what it means to journey through life than to arrive.
At the leadership conference I told you about last week, there was one talk in particular that struck a chord in all of us. How deeply the topic resonated in our lives was palpable to all of us in the audience and in the conversations that unfolded after.
The talk was a by a pastor named Jeff Manion and it was on “The Land Between”.
What is the land between?
The land between is just this experience I am talking about– an experience we all know, but maybe don’t share with others.
It is the experience of waiting- waiting without celebration or evidence of movement forward. It is the experience of seemingly traveling in place, of treading water and slowly sinking. An experience we call “for now” in public, but a “for now” that, in private, in our heart of hearts, we fear will never change. ”
For now we are living back at home with his parents because we can no longer afford our mortgage. For now we have more credit card bills than we can pay. For now we are without work, without direction. For now we are waiting to hear back from the doctors. For now my entire day is spent endlessly changing diapers, preparing meals and losing touch with who I am a part from being a mom. For now we don’t share much passion, for now are unhappy in our marriage. For now we are dissatisfied and unsure of the way our life is panning out.
Jeff Manion calls the land between any season of unremitting difficulty, “Where life is not as it once once and where the future is in question.”
The land between is the seemingly dry desert between here and there. It is the no-man’s land between joblessness and hired, between dream born and dream fulfilled, between an unplanned pregnancy and confidence as a new mom, between diagnosis and cure, between a broken-heart and a fulfilling, passionate relationship, between relocation to a new place and feeling like that new place is home, between prayer called and prayer answered.
It is the long stretch between “no longer” and “not yet.” It is every meaningful transition of your life.
And because every time we find ourselves here– whether it be for physical, relational, financial, emotional or spiritual reasons– it is unfamiliar and unpleasant once again, and because on it’s grounds we battle discouragement, grief, anxiety, stress and the weight of unknowing coupled with the weight of our responsibility to those we love, the land between is ripe with danger.
And because every time we find ourselves here– whether it be for physical, relational, financial, emotional or spiritual reasons– we find ourselves at a crossroads of choices for how we will respond, and who will we choose to be within these circumstances, the land between is also ripe with possibility.
It is our response to the land between that will determine whether our journey through the desert will result in deep, lasting growth or prove destructive for the soul. – Jeff Manion
What happens when our spirits tire? What happens when our heart meets with disappointment again and again? What happens when one after the other doors shut and patience starts to feel like cruel punishment?
What happens when we are past the point of being sick and tired and we find ourselves crushed and numb? What do we do with our experience of intense failure or frustration or fear?
There are 3 truths about the land between:
1. It doesn’t matter how or why we are here. We don’t always get to choose what happens to us or what someone does to us.
2. It’s okay if we experience emotional collapse while in this place. On our own there is only so much we can bear.
3. What we do with the experience of the land between is up to us. This place can stay a dry desert where our faith eventually dies, OR this place, this crazy, middle- of-nowhere place, can become the richest and most fertile soil of our life.
Whatever you remember or take-home from this post, remember this:
The most important truth about the land between is that it is our greatest opportunity for transformational growth.
The other key thing to know is that even though there is no one who can wave a magic wand over your situation and instantaneously remove you from the land between there are people who can help us navigate this place. There are people who can coach and guide us in the land between and help us make choices so we can find the path through quicker than we would on our own. Let these people help guide your responses and let them breathe into your day new hope and encouragement.
If this topic is resonating with where you are at today, here are some next steps:
- Read Jeff Manion’s The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions
- Ask yourself some questions:
Who do I want to be in the land between?
How will I sustain the waiting and infuse new hope into my situation?
Where am I keeping my sights focused on during this transition?
Is there someone who can help guide my direction and how I respond?
This week I’ll share with you two personal accounts of my own “land betweens.” Today, in comments below, tell me your thoughts on land between stuff. You guys enrich us all with your insights…
