Thresholds

The calendar is a constant reminder in these days of days ending and days beginning.  There are days that are past and there are days still to come.  In these waning days of December with the winter solstice only a few days behind us, there is a sense of standing in what might be called in-between times, or according to the ancient strand of Celtic spirituality, a threshold moment.   While we might make big productions about changes that take us from one thing to another, the truth is we are constantly standing in one threshold or another.     

The word threshold brings to mind an image of a door.  A door is both an entrance and an exit.  We can come to the door and stand there with one foot in what is behind and one in what is ahead, but staying there for very long is impossible.  At some point we have to move.  In-between moments come and go, but they are not permanent fixtures in our life.   Sometimes it is hard to embrace the reality that we cannot live in both worlds.  

We may not want to turn lose of what is behind us, but we cannot take hold of what is ahead of us unless we let go of what is past.  And what is also true is that many of these threshold moments are not really moments of our own choosing.  Life changing events such as the loss of someone we love, or divorce, or the birth of children, or a new job, or some words from a doctor can all thrust us from where we are to where we are going.  We may stand still in a state of pause, but we are not created to live in such a state.  God is One who is always leading us forward and to go where He is leading means realizing that each step is a threshold moment as we decide about continuing the journey.