I am Grateful for the Day Between
April is upon us. The days are growing longer. The shadows are getting shorter. The earth is coming alive and as it does, so does the promise of life and new beginnings. This time of year, we seem to all be eager for the opportunity to shake off the stifling weight of winter in exchange for the blissful touch of the sun’s rays. And, of course, as this new season awakens, many of us also welcome spring by celebrating Easter and spending time in remembrance of the crucifixion and resurrection. There are so many meaningful things to meditate on during this time of year. Holy week, in particular, is a period during which many believers, including myself, spend time reflecting on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and, finally, Easter. This year, for me, an additional day became the unplanned and unexpected focus of my meditation. The day that sits unremarkably between Good Friday and Sunday is a day I don’t recall spending much time considering in the past. And perhaps for good reason. Afterall, it was a day where not much was occurring worth celebrating. It was a day where it is easy to imagine followers were consumed with anger and confusion after having just witnessed their King being crucified. In the aftermath, they must have been left to consider the possibility that the promise they had committed their lives to had seemingly met an unfulfilled end. It seems reasonable to draw the conclusion that there was no shortage of frustration, doubt, or fear. And I am sure many must have believed their questions would remain unanswered indefinitely: “What now?”, “Why isn’t He where He said He would be?”, “Did we misunderstand?”, “What will tomorrow bring?” That Day Between must have felt more like a lifetime than just a single day. The more I reflected on this, the more I considered how many times I have asked these very same questions. How many times have I wondered, “Will He be where He said He would be?”, “Can I trust Him to do what He said He would do?”, “Why isn’t it how I thought it would be?” I am ashamed to admit that I have asked these questions an undeterminable number of times. Over and over, I have doubted and wondered, and doubted and wondered, and doubted and wondered. I have doubted and wondered countless times. Yet Jesus has never, not once, fallen short of a promise. As April and Easter outwardly swirl around with sunshine and newness, internally this current season of my life is also a deluge of new. Alongside my husband, I have embarked on a journey that feels treacherous, unreliable, and tenuous. Nonetheless, we placed out feet prayerfully on this path filled with the blessed assurance that our will was aligned with God’s. Yet still, the continued stress of our journey has yet to feel comparable to the cheerful, sunny countenance I normally associate with new beginnings. Instead of reaching out and touching the tip of joy, I often feel as though our future weighs heavily under the shadow of uncertainty. As I considered this in light of the Easter celebrations, however, I was given a new perspective and as I looked upon my circumstance in this new light, I realized that while things may feel uncertain, they are not without meaning, purpose, or promise. We are simply in the Place Between. The place between uncertainty and change. The place where fear is examined. The place where the battle between hope and doubt rages. The place where, prayerfully, waiting is laid to rest and faith emerges. While my family and I may often feel weary and sometimes discouraged, the promise of tomorrow has not wavered. Each of our steps has been directed with care and intentionality and it has become clear that God is using this time to shape our character. It is the place where I can choose to take courage as I trust that He will follow through on His promises today exactly as He did all those centuries ago- exactly as He has done every day since. It is a time to take heart and remember that He will reveal a way because He always does. He will provide hope and a future because He is loving and generous. He will make all things new because He is the glorious creator. He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him because he is faithful and merciful. A new day will dawn, the stone will be rolled away, and Sunday will come…because He promised it would and because His love never fails.
“Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope.”
-Romans 5:3-5
