Trusting God in the summer in-between

When I think of summer, my first thought is sunshine. Long days, crickets chirping, swimming, slow vacations. Summer is a fun break from many of the demands of other seasons. 

But the summer between high school and college is much more than that. It is the summer in-between.

Young adults on the brink of launching to college spend their summer wondering.

Wondering who their friends will be. 

Wondering who their professors will be.

Wondering where their classes will be.

Wondering when they’ll be able to squeeze in meals between classes and work.

Wondering what clubs they should join.

Wondering if it’s normal to feel uncertain.

Wondering if they’ll ever stop feeling in-between.

Having that much to wonder about is stressful, even for the most settled and emotionally regulated adult. For a newly minted young adult, it can be extremely overwhelming.

There is a story in the Bible about God’s people being in-between. You may remember the story of the Exodus: the Red Sea miraculously parts, and God’s people escape the clutches of Egypt. They are free!

They expect to head straight into the promised land God gave to them, where they would finally be able to live in peace, to settle down, to raise their families, to be at home. But instead, they find themselves in the wilderness. Wandering — and wondering.

They are in-between the familiar and the unfamiliar. In-between one land and a new land. In-between one identity and a new identity.

They are, understandably, very nervous. And their leader, Moses, is struggling too. They look around and ALL they see is uncertainty (plus a lot of sand).

For those of us who care for young adults, the stress of wondering and uncertainty can feel contagious. Like Moses, we start to waver. We try to lead our young adults well but we are also grieving and uncertain, unsure how to trust God or who we will be on the other side of the journey.

But the Bible recorded an important conversation between God and Moses about this very thing. Moses admits to God that he’s wavering. He feels like he and his people are losing faith. Losing hope. Struggling with the in-between. And God says this to him:

“I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest.” (Ex. 33:14). God assures Moses that he — and his family — are going to be fine. More than fine.

The summer in-between is challenging. Filled with a whole lot of questions and not a lot of answers.

As you walk with your young adult through the in-between, we want to remind you of the good news that God promises to be with you — and your family — every step of the way.