When we look back on our lives, it’s usually the big moments we remember most. The highs that made us feel alive, or the lows that broke us.
It’s completely natural to think that way. In the Bible, we also got a glimpse of these big moments in the characters’ lives.
We saw Joseph’s rollercoaster life being the most favorite to being sold to slavery to being promoted, to being prisoned, then to being 2nd to Pharaoh.
We also saw Jesus in His big moments— humble birth, extraordinary childhood, performing miracles, preaching the Kingdom of God, dying on the cross, and resurrecting.
What else? 40+ kings’ chronicles of major events, Jonah’s calling, Queen Esther’s favors, Joshua generation’s wars, Mary and Joseph’s calling and transitions, the apostles’ obedience and persecution, and so much more.
However, even if we try hard to always have those big, impactful, and life changing moments in our lives, we can’t. And we shouldn’t. When you hike a mountain, you’ll notice that it’s not always uphill or downhill. There are stretches where the path is just steady, ordinary, and quiet.
That’s how the Lord designed our lives too.
What About the Middle?
I’m in it now— in the middle of two big things.
I just finished serving in Japan with OMF for three months—an unforgettable, life-defining experience. And ahead of me? Lord willing, three years of studying for a master’s degree.
Yes, you read that right. The Lord firmly prompted me to study and get my master’s.
In the middle of serving in Japan, the thought of “Bible School” wouldn’t leave my brain. I reached out to my pastors and leaders for prayer and guidance.
Before I left Japan, I already received several confirmations from His word, my friends, and colleagues that taking a master’s degree is the next step in my journey. There were several friends and important figures that didn’t support this decision though. I’ll tell more about the story when the school I applied to accepts me (please pray for me).
The middle is an awkward place for me. Maybe because I’m used to extremes of life. Heartbreaks, abandonment, hustle, sufferings, etc. As well as immense joy, best friendships, travelling, rewards of obedience, etc.
So when I applied for my master’s, I counted the months I have to wait before I start studying.
5 months. 5 long months.
Waiting. Preparing. Living in the middle.
If you consider the years or decades the characters in the Bible had to wait, you can judge and tell me that I am an impatient woman.
Lessons and Joy in the Middle
But you know? The middle is not just a straight line. The middle also has its twists and turns. It also has its own shine and glimmers to it.
Thinking about it now, even the middle has its own ups and downs.
In fact, I think it’s where most of the work happens.
The middle are sometimes hidden and sometimes in plain sight.
Think about it. We read Paul’s letters for several churches about their middles. We also know of Israelite’s journey in the middle of wilderness. We heard of Job and his friends’ conversations in the middle of Job’s loss and suffering.
What are some of the middles in the Bible that are hidden? Jesus’ middle life from ~13 to ~30 years old. Jacob’s hard work for 14 years. The normal days of Solomon as a king. Or maybe even the days when Joshua had to wait outside Moses’ tent in the middle of the wilderness— what did those look like?
My wild guess is this: Their middle looks a whole lot like our middle.
The Invisible Work of the Middle
I’m reminded of that quote by Jacob Riis:
“Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”
Jacob Riis
The first strike is important, as well as the hundredth-and-first. The starting point and the breakthrough.
But who would want to endure the sweaty, achy, and tiresome 2nd to 100th strikes?
Even in running— The first and last kilometer are usually the hardest and have the most “pressure”. It is very important to start and end a run. But who would say that the 2nd km and the middle kms are less important?
Each phase of the journey is equally important. The uphill, the straight paths, and the downhill. The first strike, the strikes in between, and the last strike. The first kilometer, the middle of the run, and the last kilometer.
The middle is long. It’s steady. It’s often unseen.
And yet—so much happens there. Including joy and fun, as well as misery and hardship.
Live Your Middle
We can only wish to have a steady highs in our lives but unfortunately, that can never be the case.
Even downhills can be tough. I’ve found them harder than the climbs, especially with tired, shaky legs.
I think a lot of us are going through our middles. Waiting. Transitioning. Preparing for the next thing. I hope, my friend, that you can see the Lord working in you and through you in such a precious season like this.
We shouldn’t shake, rush, or despise the quiet middles.
Why? God made sure that there’s also beauty, grace, strength, and lessons in it.
One Response
So glad to hear this news. Also glad to hear your thoughts about the “middle”, I too have been thinking much about the unglamourous days…the plodding that makes up more of our time than anything else. Thanks for the reminder. May God make this “middle” a special time between you and him, even if it doesn’t feel like it day-by-day.