Feeling Betwixt and Between and What That Means

INDECISION is at the forefront of our lives, especially when we are stuck in a place we don’t want to be. Being undecided is not always about not knowing what to do.

Many times it is about knowing exactly what we want to do, but without having the means to do it.

Sometimes we are asked to wait — for an undetermined time; for a situation that may never actually arise. We can’t contemplate letting go of it. But we cling to it by faith, saving ourselves for this plan (what we believe so passionately for) of God’s action should it come about. Again, some ‘plans’ we cannot let go of. We get stuck. Our faith can only hold to this particular design for the future.

Too easily are we restrained in bargaining with God when, we should know, bargaining will get us precisely nowhere — especially with God. Our bargaining will coerce God not one iota.

So we are left with a decision to make: how do we get unstuck when we are betwixt and between?

Being encamped in a particular struggle is good in that we know what we need to do. How is more the question.

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Being betwixt and between is inevitable. But it is worse when we are stuck in a season of it — especially if that season is months or years. Finding we are encamped in a certain struggle — an ugly or needy or vulnerable pattern of thinking — we are frequently shouting to our inner selves: “Enough already!”

Don’t be too hard or down on yourself. The fact is you will work through it. You must. We all must. And we are all destined to find ourselves challenged to get unstuck from patterns of thinking that our feelings lock us into.

Life is a journey through the arctic at times. Pack ice is the worst of grief, where every day is a slog to break through. But a lot of life is floating by the majestic glaciers, watching the ice shelf, marvelling at its resplendent beauty. Yet, glaciers inevitably break off. Life’s goal is still about navigating the icebergs, even as we enjoy the sights. It’s not what’s above the waterline that is of most concern. It’s what is deeper below that wreaks havoc in our psyches. Many times our thinking takes us into times where we find we are nowhere and, worse, encamped by bergs all around.

Being betwixt and between is a thinking challenge to be overcome.

When icebergs develop in our thinking, let us not get concerned about shifting them from above the surface. Let us go deeper below to find out what is causing the thinking deeper within us. It’s less about the other person or the situation. The key to getting unstuck is within us.

The deeper problems in life, and the solutions, are deeper within us. Let us go deeply inside, seek God, and take courage, when we must change.

When life is cold, we must keep moving.

© 2015 Steve Wickham.