Being Stuck in the Middle

Here I am – going on 7 months since my home in Tulsa sold and in a few days (I hope), will be moving to my home here in Texas. By all appearances it would seem I am “stuck in the middle” though I haven’t really been stuck – it’s been such a precious 7 months of blazing a trail to my family in Austin, Tulsa and back here to Frisco. Being stuck in the middle is something like being in a hallway. It’s that transition hallway that we’ve all been in from time to time. What a wonderful reassurance we have from Isaiah 22:22 where we find that when God closes a door, he opens another….even though between the closing and opening of those doors, there is a hallway.

So how do we handle life in the hallway? Longing to move on, yet stuck in the middle. Life seems to moving everywhere, except where we are, and we are standing still. Hallways are often long and empty spaces, but they are more valuable than they seem. Being stuck in the middle, or in a hall, indicates transition, and transitions are a natural part of life. Our babies are typically in the womb hallway for nine months. Teenagers receive a learner's permit “hallway” before they get their driver’s permit. Couples experience an engagement “hallway” before they marry. That transition time is more than optional – it is necessary.

Most often, hallways aren't pleasant lead-me-beside-still-water experiences. So what do we do when we’re stuck in the hallway?

1. Embrace the Hallway
We need hallways. Jumping from one stage of life headlong into another isn’t wise. It’s a recipe for burnout. Hallways are a time of rest. Embrace the hallway. Praise in the hallway. We won't be there forever. We are so loved by Almighty God, our Creator, because we are His. Rather than being a constant “human doing”, He wants us to let go of the doing and focus on “being” -- being His child. Being alive. Being whole. The hallway is the birthing place.

2. What Happens in the Hallway Changes Us Forever
Hallway moments take a whole lot of patience and trust. We can certainly ask questions, but we shouldn’t always expect answers. We can even kick, scream and cry in the hallway – that’s our choice. It’s a process, of which I’m well acquainted. Here’s my process. I allow myself to be teary and wimpy for about 5 minutes, then I pull myself together, because I know a red, blotchy face and puffy eyes is certainly NOT my best version of myself. I get a grip and then I learn to trust more, complain less, and truly believe God’s plan is underway – and the plan happens to be hanging out in the hallway for a while. My next door isn’t completely open, but thanks be to God, it’s ajar and I can see a light at the end of the hallway. Hall time is almost over. I wish I could tell you I always practiced what I preach, but I often question the process, but always in the hall, I grow stronger and my faith goes to new heights.

Here’s the best news about hallways…..transition will birth momentum, passion and renewed vigor and vitality for the next phase. So, hold on, my FB friends. We won’t be in the hallway forever. My time will come. Your time will come. God is about to open a door no man can shut. Let’s savor our time in the hallway, because the hallway sets us up for spreading our wings to fly! Hmmm. Sounds like the hallway is close to the cocoon where our wings grow strong enough to give us everything we need to soar!
#PraisingInTheHallway #SpreadYourWings #EmbraceTheHallway

DOING Christianity is Complicated; BEING a Christian is NOT

This sweet time of solitude for the last 3+ weeks has given me great insight on “doing Christianity versus being a Christian”. I really needed this time of focus for wisdom and direction – not to mention, clear out some of the cobwebs in my thinking.

I’ve been a gal who has relentlessly pursued God most all of my life. I think my thinking became somewhat skewed because I thought that the more I did for God, the more I read His Word, the more times I attended church, the more I gave and volunteered, the more I knocked on His door for answers to my prayers and needs -- the more I would receive His favor. My daily walk seemed to be more about striving -- to do more and be more. But God wasn’t asking me to do, do, do. He was offering me a life of abundance for simply BEING His girl.

I think about a marriage/love relationship. Out of the love we have for each other, it’s just natural to be loving, caring and considerate of each other. The more we love….the more we aim to please – not out of necessity, but out of the sheer enjoyment of bringing pleasure to our loved one. We complicate it when we disconnect from each other and become careless and we get sidetracked on things that distract us from cultivating the love. That’s when our relationship gets complicated. It’s then about a score card – not about that mutual love and respect for each other.

I love Zig Ziglar’s quote: “We are human BEINGS, NOT human DOINGS.” And I’ve been one of those over-complicated responders to God. Don’t get me wrong. I love my Lord and I love the relationship I have with Him. Seriously, I thrive in the knowledge of knowing who I am and Whose I am. But rather than BEING with the One 24/7 Who loves me most and just living each moment of every day in the knowledge of my trust and complete devotion to Him, I complicated things by giving myself rules of engagement with Him. Look at His love words I read yesterday: John 15:4-5 4 “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." I got it. The crux of my relationship with Him isn’t about do’s and don’ts, about have to’s and have not’s…..it’s about a lifestyle of BEING and ABIDING, being grafted into the vine. When we abide in Jesus, He becomes more than a Sunday God or when-in-trouble God or when-we-think-about- Him God. Abiding in Him means He's our Monday through Sunday -- our 24/7 Lord Who we are involved with every moment!

I recently read “The Magnolia Story” – it’s the sweet, often hilarious, and amazing story of Chip and Joanna Gaines from the show “Fixer-Upper”, their love story, taking daily steps of making a living, to wisdom and knowledge in business and how they made it to stardom. It’s a story of faith and just really “abiding in God” on a daily basis. It’s about hearts for family and humanity. It’s about REAL LIFE and real struggles and a REAL everyday walk with God….just BEING. I really didn’t want the book to end. You’ll laugh out loud at their mistakes that turned into “all things working together for good because they trusted God”. I also urge you to watch the show which is REAL LIFE of turning old homes into new…..just like in our lives when the old man gets destroyed and the new man awakens to “new life in Christ”. That, my friends, is the greatest FIXER-UPPER ever. Not complicated. Just sweet air….even on those days when the struggles of life can be quite stinky……but because we ABIDE IN HIM….He even makes the stinky turn into a sweet aroma when lifted to Him in trust that He will turn even the stinky into good in our lives.