Upendo Ministries

There’s a space in life that often goes unnoticed until we find ourselves stuck in it—the middle. It’s the place after the door has closed behind us, but before the next one opens. The middle of what was and what will be. It’s the in-between, the waiting room of life. And if we’re honest, it can be one of the hardest places to live.

In the middle, we wrestle with the tension of no longer being who we were, yet not knowing who we’re becoming. The past feels familiar, even if painful, and the future feels uncertain—even when it’s full of promise. It’s here that doubt creeps in. It’s here that silence can feel deafening. It’s here that anxiety often speaks louder than truth.

We pray, but sometimes it feels like our prayers echo back unanswered. We try to trust, but our grip on control tightens when answers don’t come quickly. We say “God, I give it to You,” but then lie awake at night, heart pounding, running scenarios in our heads of how everything could fall apart.

Why is it so hard to surrender here?
Because the middle is where we feel the most out of control.
Because we don’t see the ending yet, and that feels vulnerable.
Because trusting God without knowing the outcome feels like walking blindfolded on shaky ground.

But maybe that’s exactly where faith grows.

Not in the neat and tidy answers. Not in the clear paths or the fully written stories.
But in the middle. In the messy, unplanned, uncertain middle.
Because here—when we can’t rely on what we see—we start to rely on Who we know.

God never promised us clarity. He promised us His presence.
He never said the middle would be easy. But He did say, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness—the middle—before they saw the Promised Land.
Joseph sat in prison—the middle—before stepping into his God-given purpose.
Even Jesus lived in the middle. The middle of heaven and earth. The middle of pain and resurrection. The middle of “it is finished” and “I am coming again.”

So maybe the middle isn’t a mistake. Maybe it’s the middle of a miracle.

If you’re here right now—in the waiting, the wondering, the aching tension of what’s next—know that God is not absent. He is not ignoring you. He is shaping you in ways you can’t yet see.

And though the middle may not make sense right now, one day it will.

So keep walking.
Keep praying.
Keep handing over your fear, even if you have to do it every single morning.
Keep trusting, not in the plan, but in the One who holds it.

Because He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.
Even in the middle.

Vulnerable moment:
This season of life has brought a lot of questions, and anxiety has become something I’ve had to face head-on. I’m doing better than I was, but I’m not fully healed yet. I’m still learning to navigate this in-between space—trying to discern where God is leading me and what He’s doing in this chapter of my life. I stepped into sickness during tenth grade, and now, somehow, I’m about to begin my senior year. There are so many things I don’t want to “mess up.” But more than anything, I want to surrender this—the middle, the uncertainty, the not-yet—to God. Even when I don’t see the full picture, I’m praying He’ll give me a glimpse of His vision for me. Much love and many prayers to you all. May you feel the nearness of God in an encouraging way this week.

-Vanessa