Being in two places at once is never easy, and for some, can be impossible. I once read of a point across the equator where it is possible to be in two countries at the same time, from a technical perspective. However, in life, there are times when being caught in between the seasons of change can never be easy, and oftentimes, almost impossible to handle.
Whether you find yourself in between jobs, or in between travelling and working, or perhaps even between settling down or starting up something new, it can be an uneasy see-saw of emotional, physical, mental, and, not to mention, spiritual upheaval; where nothing is guaranteed, and everything seems temporary. It can seem unfair, even though it may be an unfair advantage.
Handling Transition
As an example, I once found myself transitioning out of a move from the United States back to Australia after I had finished my masters degree. It had been a good six months or so, and something still didn’t feel right. At the time, I had whittled down my options to about two—whether to move back to the States, or to move to India. I had received job offers from both, but finding the one that seemed the better of the two was proving difficult.
I finally sat down and had a call with the president of the organisation based in the US, which ended up going nowhere. Feeling frustrated, I turned to option number two, but it seemed that no progress on the placement in India was being finalised. I found myself caught between two exploding worlds, though in hindsight, it wasn’t exactly what it seemed.
After several weeks of waiting, I was about ready to throw in the towel. Constant meetings, negotiations, and phone calls, but it seemed I was none the wiser. I finally decided that is was pointless to deliberate the inevitable. I prayed that things would change. What seemed like a considerable time later, I finally remembered a conversation I had with a friend during my seminary days, where they mentioned something that I had suddenly recalled. After a little research online, I found out the name of the Christian company, and scrolled down their website to the bottom of the page. Amazingly, they were located in India, in the southern part of the country, in the same state and city as my parent’s hometown. What were the odds?
Being expectant
Long story short, I ended up going to India, but not in the way I expected. It seems the season of change that I had been considering and contemplating was actually a long time coming, but one that exceeded my own expectations of what I thought was best. In fact, I know that God had a better way of showing me what He already had in store than what I thought was already on the table. I just needed to look in the right place.
Enduring in hope
Perhaps there may be times in your life when you go after something—an opportunity, a dream, maybe even a person who you thought was the best thing to happen to you in a long time. But when you are caught between exploding worlds, and everything seems like it is burning down around you, just wait a minute or two longer; you’ll find that things do not change in the moments you expect, but rather, in the moments you endure.
Joseph Kolapudi is a TCK born in Australia to Indian parents, and returned from California where he was studying theology at Fuller; currently, he is working with a missions agency, continuing his love of writing by contributing to PSI.
Joseph Kolapudi's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/joseph-kolapudi.html
Joseph Kolapudi's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/joseph-kolapudi.html