The In-Betweens Of Life

Dec 29, 2022

I don’t know about you, but in my mind, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day doesn’t even exist.

It may be because I’m lucky enough to get the week off from work, or because I’m in a perpetual food coma after a plethora of holiday parties, or because nearly every year of my life, this week is spent visiting with family. The calendar is filled to the brim with seeing as many relatives as humanly possible.

Sure there’s A LOT happening, but for whatever reason, it’s a time when my heart and soul can go into autopilot mode.

The busyness, the exhaustion from the holiday season, and the trepidation of the audacious goals that are looming in the new year can all lead to a sense of numbness in between Christmas and New Year’s Day. In the in-between spaces of life, it’s easy to go into autopilot, and as a result, we shut out God.

We just have to get THROUGH all of the family plans. We desperately need to recover from 15 Christmas parties. Or maybe we’re terrified of failing the December version of ourselves who were convinced that “January us” was going to have it all together.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is an in-between space. It’s not Christmas anymore, but the New Year isn’t here yet. So what do we do? Where do we go? And how do we be present in the space where maybe we don’t feel the joy of Christmas morning, but we don’t have the New Year’s motivation yet?

Friend, I would argue that these in-between spaces are where God shows up the most.

These are the spaces where He meets us the most intimately and says, “I see you.” I see you in the post-holiday slump. I see you in the New Year's anxieties. I see you in the moments where you aren’t sure where you are. Where the fun is over and you’re not yet onto the next thing. I see you when the family stuff is messy. I see you when you have no idea what the next step is in your career. I see you when you feel absolutely lost and have nowhere to go.

Jesus does his thing in the in-between.

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

- John 14:25-27

Jesus promised us that after he ascended to heaven and before he returned to earth - in the greatest in-between there ever will be - his Spirit would be with us, teaching us, and giving us peace.

I don’t know what in-between you’re facing in 2023. Maybe it’s simply post-Christmas sadness, or maybe it’s something big. Maybe you don’t know what’s going to happen to the marriage, job, debt, or mental illness in the New Year. Friend, may I remind you that his Spirit was sent to you specifically for the in-between moments of life. Jesus isn’t back yet, but his Spirit is here.

We aren’t alone. And when we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, He will teach us and give us peace in the most unknown seasons of life.

Jesus is coming back. This in-between won’t be forever. Your unknown won’t be forever. God will answer our prayers and make all things clear. But for now, know that He is here. Know that our God loves to show up the most in the moments that seem the most uncertain.