Caroline LeGrand
CBF Missions Communications Specialist
"I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
– Philippians 1:6
I’ve been thinking a lot about the unspoken grief that comes with life’s in-betweens. The precipice between one thing and another is a difficult place in which to exist. There are all kinds of transitions—those you knew were coming, those you didn’t expect, those you planned and those you wish never happened.
For many people I know, the past several years have been a tumultuous time—constant political and economic upheaval, a global pandemic that reshaped the course of their lives, the death of loved ones, babies born and families that grew or shrunk, relationships that began and ended, identities reconsidered, homes left by choice or by force and careers and livelihoods left by choice or by force. Personally, I’ve experienced more beginnings and endings in the past several years than I can count. And with this comes a peculiar, liminal grief that is hard to describe.
This blessing is dedicated to all those at a crossroads, whether mourning what they lost, looking hopefully to whatever is next or stuck somewhere in-between. But it is especially dedicated to my family, who have and continue to experience many transitions over the past several years.
A Blessing for the In-betweens
Blessed are you who mourn life’s transitions.
Blessed are you who yearn for the things that used to be.
Blessed are you who feel torn between relief and sorrow at a moment of leaving.
Blessed are you when the person you thought you’d become, the things you thought you’d do, are no longer possible.
Blessed are you who are waiting for closure.
Blessed are you when you feel neither here nor there, when you’re not sure if you fit in anywhere at all.
Blessed are you when you are too tired to embrace change and process what you’ve lost.
Blessed are you when you feel unequipped to start something new.
Blessed are you when the path is no longer clear, and you feel you’ve lost your way.
Blessed are you when you feel like the world is moving against you.
Blessed are you when life keeps rolling along, with people leaving or moving on or dying, but you’re still here, wondering why. Why am I still here when so many others don’t get to be? What is my purpose?
To all those experiencing life’s in-betweens, know that the One who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Within the grief of these liminal spaces, God is there.
In the stillness of the in-between, neither here nor there, the One who has brought light in the darkness and joy in the morning whispers to you, saying:
The One who created you has not abandoned you.
You are not finished.
There is still work to be done.
There is still more beauty to behold,
more joy and grief to experience,
more love to give and receive.
You are still unfolding, ever-creating,
ever-becoming the person
God made you to be.
You are not alone.
You are still here.