In Between



On Thanksgiving morning, as I wandered through the familiar streets of my neighborhood, it was unusually quiet. Few people were out walking dogs or running. But I did notice that the streets were lined with a surplus of cars, which I assumed were driven by family and friends recently arrived for a holiday visit.
It was also surprisingly cold and the wind was strong. The wind carried upon it a constant supply of autumn leaves. The leaves that have been so beautiful were being quickly moved to memory. As I walked, I was amazed at how things around me were in a state of change. When I turned the corner and saw this tree, it seemed to me to represent the reality of living in an “in between” time. Half full of color, half bare, the wind was at work in its life but not yet finished. There it stood, in all its “in between” beauty.
On Sunday, most Christians begin the journey called Advent. For the next few weeks we join with those who across all ages have lived in the “in between”. The people of Isaiah’s day that waited in exile for a deliverer. The people who waited under the boot of Rome for the Messiah to come. The people who today wait for change and deliverance and justice and peace. The Good News about being “in between” is that something new is coming. Things will not always be as they are. We will not always be as we are. God is at work in the “in between”.
Such times come in many different forms. We can feel in between our past and our future. We can feel in between sickness and health. We can feel in between who we are and who we wish to be. We can feel in between doubt and faith. Whatever we feel, the season of Advent brings Good News. Even here, God is with us. God is at work. We do not have to wait to live into God’s love and grace.
Isaiah writes, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”

Peace. 

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