Making it thru the Meantime!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Students and staff stuck in a snowstorm! At the beginning of the day I never planned on being stuck at school. As a matter of fact my day started like any other day thankful for the privilege to educate students. However, as snow flakes began to accumulate and the road conditions begin to worsen, staff and students were left wondering would we be able to make it home safely. As time passed and the reality of our situation settled in, other questions filled our mental skies such as; what would we provide for the students to eat, where would they sleep, and exactly what would the night hold? In a real sense we found ourselves in the meantime. Have you ever been stuck in a situation in which you didn't know what to do? Have you ever found yourself in a meantime situation? The meantime is the in-between time when you don't know what to expect, and you don't know exactly what is next. If we are honest, many of our moments are spent meandering through the meantime as we are left waiting and wondering when and how our situation will ever change. Thankfully the above text teaches us how we can make it through the meantime!

First of all when we find ourselves experiencing a meantime moment, we have to be productive (Jeremiah 29:5-6). While we were stuck in the snowstorm, what started out as dreariness soon became delight. The environment was energized with the excitement and the enjoyment of playing games, watching movies, and collaborating with one another. This experience set the stage for creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness to come forth. As many of my colleagues began to pitch in to make sure needs were met, we found out that they were good cooks! This meantime moment also was a time of opportunity as some of our students had a chance to experience snow cream for the very first time. Did you catch that? They were able to take something that was negative and use it for something positive! My friend, in this life we often face a plethora of problems. However God can use them to bring out the best in you! In the midst of your problems don't lose your productivity.

Next we have to be prayerful (Jeremiah 29:7). Throughout the day I found myself clothed in a spirit of prayer (Who ever said that prayer was taken out of school?) However as time passed my prayer changed from asking God to get us out of the situation, to hoping that He would just keep us while we were in the situation! This is very important because if we are not careful we can become mean during our meantime. During these moments we can also find ourselves sinking in the quick sand of self-pity. In your meantime stay prayerful allowing God to change you before He changes your situation!

Third we must be patient (Jeremiah 29:10). Despite our desire for things to happen swiftly, the reality of our situation was that we would be stuck at school for the night. Our staff had to calm the nerves of some students who couldn't fathom the idea of staying at school overnight. We did so by telling them, "Just hold on, help is on the way!" That's a meaningful message for someone who is the midst of difficulty. As the Scripture says, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart." Psalms 27:14

Lastly we must be positive (Jeremiah 29:11). We were able to make it through the meantime because everyone stayed positive. During this whole ordeal our students demonstrated exceptional attitudes. Some of them even took advantage of the extra time by doing school work! Staff members had high spirits even though their bodies were tired. What enabled everyone to stay positive? The expectation of being able to go home the next day. We knew that our leaders were working on a plan to get us out. In the same way, you can stay positive in the meantime because you know our Leader, Lord and Liberator has a plan to get you out. As a matter of fact before you ever got to your meantime God had a plan to get you out of the meantime! Stay future-focused believing that His plan will come to pass.

Well I'm glad to report that we are no longer stuck in school! My mind will forever treasure the many memories that were made during that meantime experience!

My prayer for you is that during your meantime moment you will believe that God has a Plan!