What an odd way to start a blog…not IN somewhere or something…but between it! 🙂  This is where I feel I’ve been for quite a while…between the gates. 

It’s that place where you’ve emerged from one gate and closed it but haven’t gone through the next one yet.  At first, being between the gates may feel like a relief…you’ve just come out of a job, a difficult relationship or an era of your life that’s come to an end.  Maybe you feel a sense of completion or maybe you feel lost – having no idea what is coming next.  Maybe you feel hurt or tired and need healing or time for restoration.  It’s difficult because you can see where you’ve come from and know what that feels like, but you can’t see very much of where you’re going…maybe just a glimpse but certainly nothing you can be sure of.

Dwelling between the gates generally feels like a safe place in the beginning.  It’s kind of like the no man’s land where you can rest and very little is expected of you.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.  I’ll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you.  Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly”  Matt 11:28-30

It’s a place where God can gently strip away habits or ways that He doesn’t want us to carry ahead with us and where new creativity can be born and grown.  It’s super important that we rest in God as long as He calls us to and don’t try to go rushing straight through the next gate.  Some of God’s greatest work is done within us in this place between the gates.  Our relationship with Him deepens in ways it could never do when we’re rushing around in busyness and distracted by new and exciting adventures.  Of course there’s learning in that too…but it’s different.

When we are here, we are not hiding or isolating…we are resting, healing, being restored and later being equipped. I implore you never to rush ahead when God is calling you to stop.  You’re just not ready yet.  After a while, God will begin to equip us, to bring fresh vision and dreams, to grow some of our gifts and prepare us for the next step.

Sometimes for some of us, we decide to camp here between the gates and not move forward when it’s time.  It feels safe and we decide we’ve done enough in the past and don’t want to move forward.  In fact…sometimes we want to be back in the previous field because we’re afraid to embrace what’s coming next.  We can wait too long between the gates.

As I stand here, I can hear loud voices through the next gate and I feel intimidated.  They sound self assured and loud.  Maybe I will wait here for longer.  I know I should have walked through the gate a while ago but I feel like there’s a huge invisible wall that’s grown in it’s way.  Where and when did I lose my confidence?  Was it in the diagnosis I received?  The pain of a broken relationship?  The loss of my loved one?  Or was it because I have waited here too long?  Maybe a mix of all of these. 

If I stay here too long my life will become dry and stale.  However, God is encouraging me to push through that new gate.  To trust Him.  To take a risk, though it’s not a risk at all because He is with me all the way. 

“I hear the Lord saying “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life.  I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide”  Psalm 32:8

As I turn to walk through the next gate, my heart is racing but I know God is with me.  I see a new meadow and the freedom of a blue sky and feel His motivation nudging me and spurring me forward.  In the place of lethargy, I feel fresh ideas rising up and creativity begin to stir. 

Do you feel like you’re stuck between the gates? 

Are you feeling impatient and wanting to race into the next field?  Wait and allow His love and healing to soak into you and give time for Him to equip you first. 

Do you feel like you’ve been here too long?  Take courage and trust in His leading.  He’s with you and He has so much more for you.