LIVING in the Land Between

The Land Between is an uncomfortable place to be.

The thing about the Land Between is it is exactly that... BETWEEN.  It isn't where you are from and it isn't where you are going, it is where you are for a season.  We may never know why we spend time in the Land Between, but we are there for a reason.  It isn't fun.  It is uncomfortable.  Sometimes, it just plain sucks.  But we have a choice.

While we are in the Land Between we can choose, as Rob Bell said in Velvet Elvis, "to become bitter, cynical, jaded and hard.  Anyone can do that.  A lot have.  Hatred is a powerful, unifying force."  We can choose to be these bitter people that no one wants to be around or we can choose well.  We can choose to be positive and make a conscious decision to have good days rather than the opposite.

I have found myself in the Land Between for a few years now.  Almost 4 years to be exact.  It hasn't been terrible all of the time, but there have certainly been some storm clouds.  There have also been times with rainbows and butterflies, reminding me of hope and promise.  At the beginning of my journey through the Land Between, I was less than enthusiastic about the journey.  I wanted out.  I wanted into the Promised Land where life looked differently.  As I sit and write this, almost 4 years in, I am not so eager to move on.  I have found peace in the Land Between.  Don't get me wrong, I would rather not experience 40 years in the Land Between as the Israelites did, and I would rather not die in the Land Between as most did... but I have found a sense of peace that truly surpasses all understanding.

Here are some of the lessons that I have learned, and/or am learning, in the Land Between...

• It can ALWAYS be worse.
• There is a time for noise and there is a time for silence.
• Standing up for yourself is a requirement in life, even if it is hard.
• Don't apologize for how you feel, they are YOUR feelings, no one gets to tell YOU how YOU should feel or what YOU should think.
• It is not only OK but NECESSARY to filter your relationships.
• Surround yourself with people that genuinely care about you and that you genuinely care about.
• Remove the things that bring drama and stress to your life.

These lessons have not all been easy to learn.  Some of these lessons have been the result of some hard conversations, nights spent at home alone, changing friendships, and a lot of time spent in introspection.  Growing pains take on a whole new meaning as an adult.  In some ways, I would gladly trade these growing pains for the kind that effect your knees as a kid... in other ways, I am so thankful that I have allowed myself to actually FEEL these growing pains.

At the end of the day, I have hope.  I believe that there is a promised land for me.  I don't know what it looks like or what it will take to get there but I am not so concerned with that anymore.  I am thankful for my time in the Land Between and I will try my best to live my life, and live in abundantly, in the Land Between.