On a cool spring day, I had some free time so I decided to bake some ginger cookies. Once the cookies were in the oven, I stood in front of the kitchen sink with the hot oven behind me. With the heat rising up my back and the steam in front of me, I began to open the kitchen sink window, when I noticed a fly flying between the screen and window. I closed the window and watched the fly aimlessly fly and buzz around, when I realized the phrase, “caught between here and there” or “caught between two places.
It’s funny how easily we get ourselves into situations that we become trapped in. Have you ever been at a place in your career or adulthood that you’ve asked yourself, “How did I get here?” Maybe it’s a bad relationship or unemployed, or maybe you moved to a new city without planning properly. How did you get here? You enter a place, wander around, and when you get ready to leave, you can’t remember how you got there, where you entered, or how to get out. As I continued to watch the fly, I noticed it pinged against the window, flying back and forth, up and down, trying to get out of this trapped place.
Panic mode initiated. As soon as you notice you’re in a place that you no longer want to be in, then realizing it doesn’t seem to be a way out, panic and anxiety heightens. You may have a tantrum by complaining to all who will listen of your fears, concerns, and worries. Stress levels increase changing your eating habits causing drastic weight gain or weight loss. But in the moment of panic and anxiety, you can’t focus on the solution, only the problem.
Breathe. As seen on television, when someone is having a panic attack, they grab a paper bag to control their breathing. Breathing into a bag helps regulate hyperventilation. Hyperventilation causes you to exhale too much air, which can decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood affecting the oxygen flow to the brain. Breathing into a bag allows the air to flow bag into the body, balancing the air flow in your lungs. When the brain is focused on keeping alive due to your panic, you can’t focus on a solution on how to change your situation.
Like the fly, you wait and hope for someone to open a window of escape. But what if that never happens. What happens if the company you work for, never notices your performance to offer you a raise? What happens if your significant other continues to neglect and abuse you? When will you find a way of escape? Caught between here and there seems like no way out. But, I know a God Who is faithful. For the Bible says, “…He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV). There is a way out. Settle yourself to hear God clearly to make a way of escape. Begin to get your business in order to make the next move. Retrace your steps to find the how you entered this space to find the way to leave the trapped place. And you if you can’t leave the way walked in, try to open another door. God has given us keys to open doors that no man can shut. So, make your strategy plan.
Are your finances in order? Start saving little by little. Save your coffee and lunch money for your next move.
Start looking for the new job, new home, or new hobby. If you continue to do what’s comfortable, you will remain in the same condition. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. You are not insane. Do something different.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Changing is uncomfortable but the more uncomfortable you become, the new activity becomes comfortable.
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