STRANGE IN-BETWEEN

Since we have been back in the states for the past week, I have felt this strange sense of in-between.  I love being back at home and am so thrilled to feel at home on the island and back in the land of humidity!  It truly feels good, but when we came back, we only had one night at home—hardly enough time to unpack at all—before we were with our friends pretty much nonstop as we made the most of our time with them before they had to go back to Perth.  It was so good to hang out, talk, process, debrief the exchange, and to listen to how God moved in so many ways.  We are all transformed by God’s grace in this exchange, and yet as we settle in back at home, we feel this heart-tug back to Scotland even as our heart strings are getting tugged here.

I read a lot of Rick Steves’ work before we left, and I watched many video clips of his online.  I loved this thought of his the moment I read it: “travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life. Many travelers toss aside their hometown blinders. Their prized souvenirs are the strands of different cultures they decide to knit into their own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop. Travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry.” 

Travel indeed changes people, and it changed, shaped, and transformed us in some many amazing ways.  We have so many more vibrant colors in our yarn shop, and the Wesberry family tapestry (let’s call it a tartan, say a MacLeod or a Black Watch) is much more colorful thanks to the trip.  Overall I am really feeling thankful for all that happened even as I feel overwhelmed by the trip home, the rapidly growing “to-do” list, the many people wanting to talk or needing a decision, and the things that can no longer be ignored.   The people in our lives here in Fernandina have made us feel so very loved and missed. We really give thanks to God for that even as we feel like there are more than a couple yarns that haven’t been tightly knitted into the overall fabric of our lives back home just yet.

The feelings of in-between have taken my mind and soul back to some places in scripture that serve as metaphors for how life can be.  There’s the wilderness of the ancient Israelites where through travel, wondering, frustration, prayer, dialogue (with Moses and God), and even utter emotional collapse, God’s people learned to trust God more as they tried to keep their focus on the Promised Land.  There are the numerous places of exile that caused God’s people to lament and to dig deep into themselves for faith that did not seem possible.  Though I hardly feel like I am in a place of exile, now is the time that I find myself digging deeper inside.  There are places of rest and retreat captured in the wilderness and the mountain top moments for Jesus.  There are the roads that the disciples walked on together, the boats they found themselves in, and the temples where Jesus taught and where he and his friends got thrown out from time to time.  All of these places come to mind as I move from home to church, from the middle school to the nursing care facilities, from fun places such as the YMCA to the places of utter beauty and freedom (the beach and the pool).  God is there in each and every place, and what a joy that is. 

I guess I can sum it the feeling by saying that blessed is the state of being a bit in-between, of feeling a little of neither here nor there.  I know that it will pass and will, God willing, transition into something deeper and even more brilliant.  No need to rush or worry.  I’ve just got to keep plugging away and let it be.