The melancholy middle

Do you feel it? Melancholy setting in?

We are five weeks in to the “shelter- in- place” aspect of the pandemic. The initial adrenaline of change, being awarded “staycations” with no school and simplified calendars is tapering.

The perceived “snow day” is actually a winter and we’re bracing for a long haul.

Most days I’m pretty good at being an optimist, but the honeymoon is wearing off.

Here we sit in that “middle” space. We don’t know when this will end, or even when restrictions will be lifted. The rates of related deaths rise and we start to put faces to the numbers. We await reports from our government leaders only to find ourselves more confused by their speeches and lost in the abyss of the unknown future.

Our family watched the movie “Groundhog day” a couple weeks ago and it is eerily familiar as I awake this morning ready to “Shelter in place” as we have for the last 40 days. Same song. Same routine. Repeat.

And yet I can’t get this idea out of my head. We have all had “melancholy middles” before -seasons of unknown where we had no idea how things would resolve.

God gently reminds me, He is here with us in the MIDDLE.

“When we’re in the middle of a difficult time, we have to speak against that lie that says, “God is not here.” We have to draw near to God…God answers the mess of life with one word: ‘Grace.’ Those who successfully go through tough times do so because they keep insisting.”

Max lucado

Verses come to mind to battle my despair. I ask myself: “Why so downcast oh my soul? Put your hope in God.”

The Bible is filled with accounts of people who sat in the messy middle, discouraged, and had to REMIND themselves of truth.

“Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has God forgotten to be merciful. Has he in anger withheld his compassion?

Then I thought, To this I will appeal…

I WILL REMEMBER the deeds of the Lord, yes I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” Your works are wonderful.

Psalm 77:11

Again in Lamentations the author cries out..

“I remember my affliction and my wandering- the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have HOPE. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are NEW every morning great is your faithfulness. “

Lamentations 3:19-23

When we focus on US, on our frustrations, shortcomings, and all the unknowns -we can despair. But hope is found if we focus on HIM. For generations people have called on the Lord and seen Him to be faithful.

We patiently remember.

We look back. We remind ourselves of the middles we’ve found ourselves in before and how now, we have the luxury of looking back to see the story He was writing . We remind ourselves what He has done in our past, and our faith grows for our future.

He is here. Right by us. He is writing our story. We don’t know what the next chapter holds, but we know the author who holds the pen.

WE sit together in the melancholy middle.