Mojo for the Middle

Beginnings are beautiful aren’t they? Births, babies, baptisms, romances, engagements, weddings, first days, first sentences, first words, first steps, first prayers. The start of something new is like a spring day on steroids – refreshing and intense, an interlude of optimism and joy in a darker fugue.

Endings are cause for celebration as well. Graduations, gold medals, gold watches, finish lines, deadlines, milestones, anniversaries, testimonials, tributes, signatures on dotted lines. The end of a thing is a space to breathe, a call to rest, a round of applause, an ovation, a curtain call on work we can, at last, declare good.

It’s the middle of things that sucks the life out of us.

The middle is where we lose our way, get lost in the maze of wondering why. Why did I think this was a good idea? Why did I choose this career? Why did I marry you? Why did I want children? Why did I think I could do this? Why did I start this race? Why did I listen to you?

The mucky swamp of whats, wheres, whens and hows drains our energy, clutches at our feet like leeches spurting superglue. What was I thinking? What am I going to do now? Where is my energy? Where is my hope? How will I ever get through this? How do other people make it to the end? When will this be over? When will I get it all together? What are my options? How am I doing? Where is my help? When will I see the light at the end of the tunnel?

In the middle, we fall, falter, fail and forget. In the middle we quit, resign, give up, lose hope, and lose heart. But, maybe, just maybe, in the middle of things the only question that can really do us any good is WHO.

Who am I? Who is God? Who will help me? Who is with me? Who am I doing this for? Who will see me through? Who is cheering me on? Who has gone this way before? Who am I living for anyway?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12: 1-3

Fix our eyes on Jesus.

That’s the crucial answer for the only question that can see us through the middle.

It ain’t easy. The middle of a thing is never easy. Easy is thinking of doing a thing. Easy is judging someone else who is doing a thing. Easy is a wide, well-traveled road leading nowhere you want to go.

But the answer to surviving the middle is to fix our eyes on Jesus.

He is not the EASY answer but He is the solution, the revelation, the aha, the comeback, the cipher, the resolution, the epiphany, the ONE THING.

The middle of things is when it all starts to unravel but in Jesus, all things hold together. The middle of things is where a person can get lost. Jesus is the way. The middle of things is where we begin to see the ugly specter of death. Jesus is Life. In the middle of things we can lose heart but if we have given it to Jesus, He keeps it safe and always knows where to find it.

The middle is no obstacle for the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and Omega. Jesus is the one who was and is and is to come. The middle is where He Is.

Are you in the middle of something? Are you beginning to sag in the middle? Are you seeking your mid-life mojo?

Fix your eyes on Jesus. He is the Who that will see you through.