The Time in Between

I decided to jump on this blogging bandwagon (gosh, I love alliteration) because I'm pretty sure this next year of my life is going to be full of things that are worth blogging about. College is over like a volleyball match against Misty and Kerri, and I find myself at a crossroads...the time in between, if you will.

But let me back up.

I LOVED my time at the University of Tennessee (#vol4life), but in May, it was time for me to pack up my bachelors degree, my big orange paraphernalia, and my plethora of pathetic pots and pans (#alliteration #boom), and hit the road. It's been a great run, Knoxville, but after 22 years of faithfulness to you, it's time for me to leave.

With the dramatic flare of King Curtis, I'll just say: "I'm packing my bags. I'm leaving. You'll never see this face AGAIN." P.S. If you didn't get that reference, then you have been tragically deprived of the greatest episode of Wife Swap that ever existed. Go to YouTube. Search: Wife Swap King Curtis. Enjoy.

Anyway, in September, I'll be heading to Raleigh, North Carolina to be a Raleigh Fellow (raleighfellows.com). Translation: For the next 9 months, I'll be living with a host family, taking seminary classes, tutoring at-risk students, volunteering in the church's youth ministry, getting mentored, and working part-time for a local non-profit. I'm thrilled. I'm blessed. I'm excited. And yes, I'm a little scared too.

More on all that as it unfolds...the real story is what I've been doing this SUMMER. On Saturday, I got back from a 10-week job at Deer Run Christian Camps. I was a camp counselor, and I did about a million things I never thought I would do (and frankly never wanted to do). It was the craziest, scariest, hardest, and best thing I've ever done with 10 weeks of my life. I'll have to share some stories and lessons about that later. But for now, let me wrap this bad boy up.

It's the time in between. I just finished a significant season of my life, and I'm entering a time of transition that will only last 9 months. After that, well, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe a real job. Maybe graduate school. Who really knows? Man, that J part of my Myers-Briggs makes it really hard for me not to know.

I'm just trying not to blow this year off. It may be the time in between, but I'm ready to learn and grow and receive and plant.

Let me close with words much wiser than my own. They're lyrics from a song by Francesca Battistelli, and I hope you find them meaningful and relevant to you.

Many of you, I bet, find yourselves in times of transition as well. Take heart. I know it's scary and unknown, and nothing seems stable right now. But let me assure you that you do have solid ground to stand on.

Deuteronomy 31:8
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Oh yeah, and here's the song lyrics.

Time in Between

You were there when your Father said
Let there be light
You obeyed when He whispered
Son, You have to leave tonight
To spend nine months in a mothers womb
Three days in a borrowed tomb

But it's the time in between
That brings me to my knees
Knowing you came for me
And all that I can't be
I'm amazed, so amazed
And I thank You for the time in between

Don't take much for this crazy world
To rob me of my peace
And the enemy of my soul
Says You're holding out on me
So I stand here lifting empty hands
For you to fill me up again

But it's the time in between
That I fall down to my knees
Waiting on what You'll bring
And the things that I can't see
I know my song's incomplete
Still I'll sing in the time in between

So many ways
Your love has saved the day
And I'm grateful for them all

But it's the time in between
The middle of two thieves
That says everything
It's the reason I believe
I'm amazed, so amazed
And I thank you for the time in between
Oh Lord, I thank you for the time in between

www.lyricsmode.com