holding: seeking to make sense of uncertain times

It feels as if the world is in a holding pattern. We’re inhabiting a waiting zone where the familiar is missing, and an in-between place where flight is suspended but we’re desperate to forge ahead.

We’re trying to stay patient until we’re able to return to our previous routines. This space can feel confining, like a chrysalis in its birth sac on the way to butterflying, but with no specific end view in sight yet.

We want to test our wings, though they seem such papery, fragile things, unready for take-off. Instead, we are being asked to trust, keep calm and carry on. As people of faith, we’re surrendering control to our Chief Pilot as He navigates for us.

“I was learning that being still and waiting in one place—going not forward but inward—was the sort of progress that really counted, the sort that gave us wings.” — Sue Monk Kidd, When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions

It seems as if a soul can only soar once it has clearance to fly. Being in a holding pattern is frustrating and slows us down. But the gift of it? Having room to question and wonder what’s next, observe the status quo inside our souls, and adapt to change.

And there is hope. Though it might be blurry and out of focus at times, it’s worth holding on to. This is the kind of resilient hope we only discover during our seasons in the dark.

“Hope lies in braving the chaos and waiting calmly, with trust in the God who loves us.” — Sue Monk Kidd, When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred people Questions

While we incubate a new way of being, God sits with us, holding us close, giving us His healing solace. Nothing is missed. God sees everything we are going through, including the coronavirus and its deleterious effects.

God is with us as we grow toward our new soul shape, and He is in the future as we learn to embrace it. He is in the days ahead when a different flight path is offered to us.

And God accompanies us in this birthing place, while we feel the pangs of our soul shifting toward its future self, the as yet unknown shape it will take.

Our querulous passengers – How? What? Where? Why? and When? – are demanding answers, but we cannot satisfy them yet. We can barely see or sense the way ahead.

This is new territory for us. There is no detailed map, only contours signalling a bumpy ride is likely. So we strap ourselves in for the duration, and prepare for our altered destination.

What does this suggest? I think we’re being called to let go of our certainties, and invited to embrace mystery, as we inhabit a sacred growing place.

In the soul surrender which uncertainty brings, God is helping us stay focused on what matters most. He will bring us clarity, one tiny step at a time.

God is training our listening hearts to become more receptive to His presence, grace and love. One thing remains certain: His compassionate care never stops.

In a holding place we can rest in always being lovingly held and supported by God. In time to come, we will be able to spread our wings as He gives us clearance to move ahead.

May we prepare to be launched into new soul territory and experiences, as God sees fit. May we grow stronger on the inside with each soul shifting we pay attention to and work through, by His grace.

We will develop faith muscles we never knew we had. Perhaps the only way out of a stagnant holding pattern is a faith-filled upwards and onwards, my friend, trusting God every step of the way! 😉✈️💜