Getting Through The “Messy Middle”

April is truly the beginning of Spring for us here in the Pacific Northwest. Sure, we may still have some cold days, lots of rain, and even the occasional snow, but things are finally blooming and turning from brown to green. And the sun finally comes back! 

Guys, I have REALLY missed the sun this year. We had an exceptionally gray and bleak winter this year, even while we had less snow than normal. And boy did my spirit need some warmth!

For some reason, this past teaching year has been the hardest in my nearly 16 years of teaching. It’s also been a difficult season for our family, and I have found the writing has not come easily this past season either. Anyone else find themselves in the “hard” or “messy middle”? This is the term I and other writers use for the frustrating middle of the first draft of a novel that often becomes quite the slog to get through. It’s also the perfect metaphor for this season of my life.

But you know what? I have pushed through on two manuscripts now to get through that rough, icky middle. And coming out on the other side feels amazing. Thankfully for us, God designed the world with seasons, and we know spring will come if we can just hold on. Similarly, in life no matter what muck you find yourself in, God is with you through it and offers blessings to us as we persevere in Him. 

We remember Good Friday as the devastating day of Christ’s crucifixion. And imagine the bleakness many must have felt on that Saturday, that “hard middle” of God’s plan for the world. But Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday! As the living Son of God, he offers us his warmth and promises to always be with us. We can see God’s design on the other side of the hard seasons, and rejoice! And you know what? The rejoicing is that much greater because we went through that messy middle! Praise God for the Sonshine!