I looked up from my book during the Superbowl Half-time show. Why not? I've seen Madonna perform since I was a kid in elementary school, so I assumed it was safe to look away. In fact, I figured it was actually safer to look away.
Anyway, the sun was setting and I thought Mt. Rainier looked pretty cool, so I balanced my camera on the widow ledge and grabbed a quick shot.
What was I reading? Probably today's best explanation of "liminality" and its essential role in our missional quest. In The Faith of Leap, Alan Hirsh says,
"It (liminality) is composed of any or a combination of danger, marginality, disorientation, or ordeal and tends to create a space that is neither here nor there, a transitional stage between what was and what is to come. As a result, it is experienced as a place of discomfort and agitation that requires us to endure and push into what is to come. ... It is the true context of a quest."
J.R.R. Tolkien understood that a quest is never a matter of one's own desire, but rather of one's calling. It is as if we are chosen, which of course, is the truth. We are chosen. We are called.
If you're feeling the "liminality" of these days, and you're sensing God's mission will require nothing less than everything, I encourage you to "push into what is to come" and engage The Tangible Kingdom.
Our quest begins Monday.
1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
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Exactly how I have been feeling the last couple of days. I never thought of it in this context exactly. I mean I knew I was working toward something, I knew I was once something else, and I know I am not yet what I will be. The matter that it is causing me dissatisfaction and dis-fulfillment inside my soul makes sense. Thanks for helping God open my eyes today and strengthen me to continue my journey forward in whatever His will is for my life. :)
-O
Posted by: Olivia | February 06, 2012 at 03:19 PM