July 17 – Living in Liminal Space

Gregg’s Reflection

Looking back, I see my life marked by seasons of liminal space — the ten-year chapters that shifted my direction: moving from apartments to our first home, graduating and marrying Genie, my baptism, my father’s passing, selling the business, finding my calling at City Church, and our move to Colorado. Each transition carried both the loss of the familiar and the anticipation of something new.

Some of those seasons were marked by anxiety, as I wrestled with letting go of the old before I could see what was next. But when we moved to Colorado in 2019, something had changed. Instead of fear, I felt curiosity — trusting that God had led us this far and would keep leading. Over time, I’ve come to see liminal space as sacred ground, the place where God strips away illusions, deepens trust, and makes room for something genuinely new to take root.

It’s not a place we would choose to stay forever, but I’ve learned to linger long enough to listen. Liminal space invites us to slow down, to resist rushing toward the next chapter, and to let God do the unseen work of shaping our hearts. And when the time comes to step forward, we realize we’ve been changed — not by what we were waiting for, but by the One we were waiting with.

Scripture

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!

Isaiah 43:18-19

We walk by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7

Ancient Quotes

What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.

Lao Tzu

Change is the only constant in life.

Heraclitus

Modern Quotes

If you feel you are anxiously floating in the in between, perhaps you are in the Liminal Space. It is when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with something else...waiting on a new normal. Embrace the mystery and power of transition from what has been to what will be.

Dr. Barbara Holmes, Universal Christ Conference, CAC, 3/19 

Transitions can only take place if we are willing to let go of what we have known, the worlds we have created, and our assumptions about how things are.

Dr Barbara A. Holmes, Crisis Contemplation, p. 46–47

Transformation happens when we consent to the presence that is already transforming us.

James Finley, Merton’s Palace of Nowhere, p. 45

Journaling Prompts

• Recall a season in your life when you were “in between” — what made it difficult, and what made it sacred?
  
  
• What practices help you trust God when the future is unclear?
  
  
• How might you see your current waiting time as an invitation, rather than an obstacle?

👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 29 Reflection: Kingdom of God/Now and Not Yet