5 Ways to Navigate the “Middle”
Navigate the middle.
Last week I shared how the much anticipated move from our old home into our new home and community was more difficult than I had imagined and the problem was…me! I didn’t realize how long it would take me to adapt to my new address and make this house a home.
It was the beginning of a process to be entered, not a problem to be solved (i.e., moving back to my old home, which was impossible because a new family had already moved in!). In this new season of feeling a bit lost, I had to learn one day at a time to prepare this new home and also to allow transformation to take place within these new walls.
So rather than running back (even though I did creep on the family who had moved into my old home for several weeks), or being transported miraculously into the future to avoid the disorientation of this neutral zone, here are five things you can do to navigate this space in the middle, somewhere between where you were, and where you are going to be:
Embrace it – do not try to force the new beginning – there is too much to learn here in the middle
Breathe – take the time to rest and restore your soul
If you can’t be still and wait, you can’t be nourished and grow capacity for the future..
Pay attention – self-control is very important during this phase. You may feel shame, impatience, boredom – ask yourself what you are learning about the soul of YOU and how surrendering to where you are may be the best way character is being forged in the deep places of your heart
Discover – find a new way to think and live – there are things only found in the desert where you are not distracted
Journal your experiences – you will have thoughts and revelations that will be helpful in your future.
Here are two questions to ask yourself that can also help you shape your transition:
Can I accept my need for this time in the neutral zone? Maybe understanding what this middle is and why you are here will avoid you falling into the trap of either wanting to fast forward or reverse.
Can I find a regular time and place to be alone and see this time as not a wilderness but a sanctuary?
The Hebrew word for the ‘wilderness’ is the same word that means ‘sanctuary.’ This un-mappable ‘nowhere’ is also holy ground. Maybe your transition is a time of being called into something holy.
Believe. Your future is closer than you think, even though it will take as long as it takes to step into it. Embrace the sanctuary that is being offered as a gift to you to explore.
Standing on the shifting ground of transition, you have come upon that time in life when you are being summoned to an inner transformation, to a crossing over from one identity to another. When change-winds swirl through your lives, they often call you to undertake a new passage of the spiritual and emotional journey: confronting the lost and counterfeit places within you and releasing your deeper, true self.
I hope that as you find yourself in the middle that you will embrace the beauty of this sanctuary season. I also believe that you will emerge with new perspective and maybe, a new heartbeat, on the other side.
Cathie