The In-Between

Have you ever heard those stories of victory...the disease is gone, the marriage is healed, the problem seems to be solved. I do love those stories..but SO often we DON'T see the victory..we are living in the space of the "IN-BETWEEN". How many of us can relate?

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about this very place. Her daughter was born with several genetic abnormalities and has had a miraculous life thus far, but has not come without its hardships.

She described to me the day in the hospital when she couldn't take her little girl home, and when she was told that something might be wrong. Thinking the nurses had left the room (they hadn't), she went into the bathroom to not just cry but that ugly cry and mourning that comes with the realization that life will never be the same. There wasn't a "cure", they could only take one day at a time.

Fast forward several years and her little girl was in so much pain and there was nothing the doctors could do...sleep was absent for both her and mom...and rolling on the floor was the only thing that seemed to bring comfort. So what did Mom do, but roll with her. There was no answer, there was no easy solution.

I'm so grateful for the many people in the Bible whose stories like these were not completed the way they wanted or even in a way they could see. Hebrews 11 talks about these people of faith...

"These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would

they be made perfect." Hebrews 11:39-40

As I think about that Momma rolling on the floor with her daughter as she writhed in pain, I think about what the Bible says about Joseph while he was in prison.

"But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him." Genesis 39:21

Lysa Terkeurst in her book, "It's Not Supposed to Be This Way" describes this as the life between two gardens. She so beautifully tells her own story of the in-between as she discovered her husband's affair and wrote about what God was doing in her through that process. The truth is we all are facing some type of dissapointment..things will never be completely made right this side of eternity. I love Lysa's perspective on disappointment that we all face on a regular basis,

"Disappointment isn't proof that God is withholding good things from us. Sometimes it's HIS way of leading us Home." Lysa Terkeurst

So wherever you find yourself today know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE in this struggle. Satan wants to isolate us and make us think that we are. Reach out to a God who is right there with you in that place of suffering. Reach out to a friend who might also be in that place, but feels alone in the struggle.

We need God and each other in the space In-Between.