The In-Between Place

What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone who feels like they’re stuck in life?

I would say to be brave enough to ask hard questions about your situation and accept the truth you learn in the process. I see this modeled in the Samaritan woman’s life. Like any religious Samaritan, the woman at the well anticipated Moses would come back and prove the temple belonged on Mount Gerizim, but she knew there were arguments between her people and the Jews about who was right about the prophecies describing a Messiah. What I find fascinating is that right after the moment she realized she was talking to a prophet, someone who knew about her struggle to survive without any mention from her, she asked Jesus to confirm or deny her faith.

Think about the implications of his answer: he would affirm that worship was supposed to be either on Mount Gerizim or in Jerusalem. His correction would have a profound destabilizing effect on the only faith she’d ever known. She asked anyway. She had the guts to ask a deep, hard question that would determine how she worshiped God and whether she was worshiping the one true God or a fake.

If you feel stuck in life, it might be tempting to wallow in your circumstances or lose your curiosity because you are just plain tired. But now is the time to dig deep and ask probing questions that could lead to truth—truth about yourself and your in-between place.

You say in the book that some of the “most meaningful moments in our faith come during our in-between seasons.” Why do you think that’s true?

My in-between places in life so far have primed me for deeper connection with Christ because I’m desperate for it. I seem to be more receptive to his teachings because every other human source of wisdom has proven lacking. Maybe the desperation we feel in our in-between places is sacred space for a closer relationship with our savior.

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Kat co-founded The Polished Network, an outreach for professional women navigating career and exploring faith, and has blossomed in recent years as a speaker and writer encouraging women to be bold in their faith. She and her husband, Aaron, live in the Dallas area with their son.

The In-Between Place releases January 5, 2021. Kat has also made available a free study guide for those who purchase the book. Sign up for that and take a peek at her website.