Early May 2020.
A season in our country and around the world that finds us “betwixt and between” to use a phrase from the anthropologist Victor Turner.
This middle space. Knowing that what was before is gone but not knowing what our tomorrows look like.
This battle ground between health professionals and economic professionals.
The “fed up-ness” that many are feeling as we ended April, week 6 (in California) of our stay at home orders, still unclear on when it will end.
Those who are saying “to heck with it” in perhaps more colorful language, and opening anyway, while others squirm and shout about the insensitivity of that move.
Betwixt and between.
It is destabilizing and disorienting. We just want it to be over. We do not live well in the in between places. We long for resolution. For rescue. For clarity. For a return to the familiar.
These in between places are vulnerable. We wrestle emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally. Ironically, most of the really important lessons we learn about ourselves, about our faith, and about each other are uncovered in these places. The places we most want to escape are the places that form us into who we want to be.
Betwixt and between.
Doing the betwixt and between globally is not new to humanity. There have been pandemics and world wars. The Spanish Flu that ravaged the world just as World War I was winding up must have been an unbelievable double whammy. But for most of us, this is a first and it is has proven challenging indeed. From “Zoom Fatigue” for those who are working, to the spiraling economy that will see many businesses not recover, COVID-19 will not soon be forgotten.
The lessons coming out of this season nationally and globally are yet to be discovered, as are the personal lessons for each one of us. The ways each of us will be changed. Shaped. Molded. Different.
Personally this has been a time of more work where I have struggled with maintaining any of my self-care rituals. Working out at home is just as difficult as it was before I joined a gym. Hence my need for a gym and camaraderie and accountability.
Add to that the timing of launching our very first book in just 3 days.
Betwixt and between.
This project we have been working on diligently for over a year. Four years if you go back to initial attempts. And a launch date set long before we happened upon a pandemic.
Turns out this is the final Saturday of the “before being published authors” season that has encompassed my entire life. Tuesday May 5th starts the “after being published authors” season of our lives.
It’s a strange season. The wondering. How will this change us? How will this change our company? Will the book make an impact? Will we have the opportunities we are dreaming of to get our message out into the world? Can we actually change how business leaders think and build their companies?
This is a transition we are choosing, while other transitions are chosen for us.
Betwixt and between.
What I want more than anything in this season can be boiled down into two sentiments:
- To stay present
- To stay grateful
It is so easy to project into the future. For better or for worse. To not just allow myself to stay in the moment. To breathe deeply and enjoy the fact that this book launch matters just in and of itself. No matter what happens, who cares, what is said, where it leads. Just having done it matters. I have to celebrate the completion of this. The reality that we actually did it and that is enough for today.
And I have to stay grateful. For the people who are in my life waiving their banners in support. For the team that surrounds us to make it all happen. For the gift of knowing that this book is, in part, an act of obedience for Michael and I. Grateful for what has already been happening as we share the book and its concepts in the pre-launch phase we have been in.
Betwixt and between.
In some ways I can’t wait to get past this next week. In other ways I want to stay right here where I am. The in between is a very vulnerable place. It pushes me to press in to who Jesus wants me to be, and who I am regardless of this latest project. It heightens my senses and makes me aware of things I don’t always notice. It is a sweet season. A reminder that we are constantly being transformed. That is the primary work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To change us day by day to be more like Jesus. In this season I am more aware of that change than is usual.
Finally, it is humbling to stay in touch with the paradox of how small we are in the scope of eternity while knowing we are called to make an impact in each one of our worlds. This contribution, legacy, reason for living matters. And yet we are so tiny. Each of us traversing through a world that is not even our home. We’re just a passing through says the old hymn
The ultimate betwixt and between.
As I publish these few thoughts today, my prayer for each of you is that in this space you recognize how you are being shaped. Changed. And that you find a way to stay present and grateful, knowing that you are in the hands of the Almighty in every season.
PS. If you want to check it out, you can find the details on FulfilledtheBook.com. I would welcome your support.
