We studied the 23rd Psalm at most Sunday School programs in the 70’s and 80’s. I remember learning it as a child. Little funny story — A kindergartener at a Baptist Sunday School class drew stick pictures of a little boy and then two other stick figures on a road. The teacher asked, “Is that you with your parents walking to church?” “No” the little boy says strongly, “That is me, but that is Shirley Goodness and Mercy following me.” We all have an affinity for the 23rd Psalm. Maybe it’s because we want to imagine Goodness and Mercy hot on our tracks following us through life. But it is also a Psalm used when a transition is going on, particularly making the transition from life into death. I’m frequently asked to read it in celebrations of life for someone.
The Celts called transitions the “Veil between,” that transition period between spaces, and they considered them very sacred. They also used this term to talk about the space between the physical and the spiritual worlds, especially the veil between the living and the dead. But we call this veil the same thing that we call other complex transitions, Liminal space. The word liminal space is derived from the Latin word limen meaning “threshold”. These spaces of potential change unsettle us because they highlight our brain’s sensitivity to processing ambiguity and transition. But I’d like you to consider them as sacred spaces, like the Celts did, places where we can encounter God and seek God’s guidance. Many times you have the opportunity to make more positive changes when your life is in transition. Liminal spaces happen when old habits or identities break down before new ones can form. They offer large opportunities for growth.
We like to think that there are transitions that are not messy. Like climbing a staircase, we simply go from one floor to another. We walk through a door into a new space. But that is not how God made liminal spaces to work. We are more like the difference between a caterpillar and a butterfly. In that chrysalis in between a caterpillar and a butterfly, the caterpillars really do turn into goo! Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar releases digestive enzymes that dissolve most of its own body tissues into a nutrient-rich soup. However, it is not just a random puddle of ooze, although that is what it would look like if we opened a forming chrysalis. The process is instead a highly organized biological transition. Crucial structures like the brain, central nerve cord, and breathing tubes remain largely intact. Amazingly, research shows butterflies can even retain memories learned during their caterpillar stage. Floating inside the goo are microscopic groups of cells called imaginal discs. These dormant discs use the liquefied caterpillar soup as fuel to rapidly build the adult butterfly’s body parts—like its wings, legs, and antennae. Once the new body is formed and the wings are developed, the mature butterfly pushes its way out of the chrysalis, pumps fluid into its crumpled wings, and lets them dry before taking flight. That ewy gooey stage is a true liminal space — where it all goes to chaos and we make something completely new of ourselves.
The Twenty Third Psalm teaches us to concentrate on these liminal spaces when we are going through them. Imagine going up and down one mountain. You see another mountain in your sight, but between and the next mountain, you see a green and beautiful valley that is something totally new to you. A stream runs through it. You feel like a sheep in the pasture reliant on the shepherd to guide you in this unknown land. Mostly the shepherd lets you know that everything will be okay in the end. The shepherd takes you to fresh water and watches over you giving you comfort and protection. Psalms 23 tells us that we can get through these liminal spaces, even when they are the valleys of death, that you have nothing to fear, which we fear many things when structures and beliefs are changing We fear getting it wrong or making the wrong choice. Death naturally is fearful, but the psalm reminds us that even in the valleys of death, we have nothing to fear. The psalm promises that you will eat in peace with your enemies. All will be well. This calmness in the middle of change helps with slowing down the brain and helping us to hear or feel God’s guidance. When you are going through a transition time, think of the 23rd Psalm. No matter whether you are on a mountain you know or a valley you don’t, there is no need to fear. You are always in God’s beautiful world.
Liminal spaces happen all of the time and we can learn to recognize them, and use them for practice so that when a huge life transition happens, we have these habits of responding to them in place. We have liminal spaces between subjects when we are talking. It is good to take a break and enjoy the pause. Think about what the other person just said or think on what it is that this is telling you about your relationship or your life. There is a Cherokee saying that every conversation has three people in it, you, me and Spirit and we have to slow our talk and pause often to let Spirit be heard.
Taking a deep breath between activities is also teaching yourself to slow down during liminal times. Find the liminal spaces in your life and promise yourself that you will honor them. Don’t crunch your over-filled life into 24 hours a day. These liminal spaces are all over our lives waiting for us to pause and reflect. Practice being reliant on the sacred. Breathe. Relax or do something stress reducing like exercise or engage in laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, especially during times of transition.
When you are in between and in large transitions in life, it is important to remember that these are sacred spaces and as such you are able to rely on listening for God’s leading. Stopping and praying is a lot more healthy than jumping ahead. The lack of a clear roadmap in liminal spaces or life transitions often causes people to rush out of this discomfort, sometimes taking misaligned actions just to escape the unknown. But there is an energy there in that uncomfortable space that will guide and protect you. Just take a deep breath and know that you don’t have to know everything and that panic rarely does anyone any good. If you feel a sense of dread, know that this is normal and try to breathe through it. The human brain is wired to predict the future. When context cues are missing the brain goes on high alert, leading to unease and even mild existential dread. This can happen when you are making a career change, a child moves away or goes to school, a grandchild begins growing up or we go from one phase to another in life. But it also happens when we are in actual corridors like an empty airplane terminal or a mall with few people walking through. Our brain can easily “freak out” because of this missing neurological data. The name for this particular state that happens in neurological overload.
I remember when I first got to Klamath Falls and started settling in, I felt that caterpillar goo of transition. Everyone in my household and family were all going through huge shifts in life. I felt very much like an unanchored ship in a storm even though there was so much to love about Klamath Falls and Klamath Falls Friends Church and being your pastor. But everything that I had known as a source of support, even from my childhood, shifted. My children were not doing well, my former husband was quickly dying, and the job, while called the same thing as my last position, was so very different than I had imagined. There were vast differences in belief systems when it came to Quakerism, different expectations from my Ministry and Care, even different worship layouts, and a completely different culture, but not in a bad way. Just that all of this was different so I got lost the first year I was here. That was my time of caterpillar goo, and appreciate all of you who waited for me to be reformed into a butterfly and gave me a chance to come out as the person I am today. I’m the same me, but it was also my transition into old age (which I gladly accept) and my transition to being an Oregonian, and a Klamath Falls citizen, which are great to be. But liminal spaces can be rough. It is important to make lots of space for reflection and pause for guidance where possible.
So if you are going through a change, remember that the 23rd Psalm offers good advice. Look for the still waters, rest, get to know the surroundings you do understand, and have compassion for yourself. You are a human being, and it is great to be a human being most of the time. Sometimes we have to make sure we assure ourselves that change happens to everyone, not the same change, but some of the same changes, and this psalm helps us all get through this valley one step at a time.
Queries:
- What kind of spiritual growth changes have you had during a time of change or transition?
- Are you going through any transitions right now, and how can you use the time to spiritually grow?
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