Most of our neighbourhoods are made up of ‘in-between’ spaces. Alleys, boulevards, ditches, power-lines, and service ways are unused and not easily appreciated. We pass by them and see them as un-remarkable. It is interesting to think that most of our community is un-used, and still we call it home.
Our lives, it seems to me, are also full of ‘in-between’ moments. The routines of getting ready in the morning, cleaning our homes, or doing some book-keeping are so un-remarkable, we would not be blamed at all if we immediately forgot what we just did. It is in these in-between moments that nothing, and everything, happens. It’s odd.
There is another ‘in-between’ space that I adore each year, and it is the ‘in-between’ space between Christmas and New Year’s Day. It is this time when the world seems to take a pause, when offices close, and when we do not expect much of those around us. We rest. As un-remarkable as a few days in between holidays may seem, there is so much that can happen here. In this space we fill it with family (Covid-allowing), share gifts, catch up on reading, and re-connect with others.
This ‘in-between’ space is called ‘liminal’ space, or as one friend of mine calls it, the ‘borderlands.’ Like a no-man’s-land border between two countries, ‘in-between’ places carry a certain kind of sadness and mystique. Consider the borderlands between North and South Korea. This Demilitarized Zone is one of the strangest places in the world. It is 250 kms long and about 4 kms wide. It is a place where no human can go and was closed off in the 1950’s. While absolutely inhospitable to humans for political reasons, this stretch of land has, oddly, become a place of life. Just on the other side of barbed-wire has existed, for three-quarters a century, one of the most un-touched nature preserves in Asia. Here endangered animals have found a haven, and over three thousand unique plants, birds and mammals are living freely.
In-between places are a gift. They are a transition space where something is lost, and where something is found. What often seems like a waste can turn into a place of new growth and life.
The Christmas story of the Bible is surely one of ‘in-between’ and borderland experiences. Uncertainty was likely a worry for Mary and Joseph as they fled from angry Herod. Perhaps for us, too, we are living in the uncertainty of this moment. Pre-covid times feel so long ago, it is almost impossible to imagine what going back there could feel like. Still, we do not see the horizon, either. We live with a fog; seeing nothing up ahead, and nothing in the rear-view mirror. With the New Year ahead there is an itch in us to be resolute, focused, and make a plan, but sometimes our only real option is to realize that we are living in the borderland, and there may be little we can do except to trust and turn to each other in ways we may never have before.
If you are experiencing an ‘in-between’ season in life, there is hope for this moment. You can rest. You can find beauty in small things. You can find allies and friends on the journey, and you can find new ways to pray, reflect, and create a new story. ‘In-between’ places, times, and activities are not wasted. They may very well be a gift.
Happy New Year to you!
