The word ‘liminal’ comes from the Latin word limen, which means ‘threshold’. Picture a doorway, where you are standing at the threshold. In that moment, you are at the point of leaving one room, but you haven’t quite entered the second room. This is liminal space – the in-between time, where you’ve left the old but not yet entered the new.

Liminal space can be uncomfortable, even frightening, but also exciting. It’s not meant to be a space where you settle – it’s temporary, like being in a waiting room. It is also a space where you can meet God in a more intimate way, as you realise that you don’t have the answers and therefore acknowledge that we are fully dependant on him.

Waiting for something new

Richard Rohr describes this space as, ‘It is when we are betwixt and between … any hiatus between stages of life, stages of faith, jobs, loves, or relationships. It is that graced time when we are not certain or in control, when something genuinely new can happen’ (MissionHR - Richard Rohr, All Transformation Takes Place in Liminal Space).

God invites us into this ‘in between’ time, so we can wait and grow in our trust of him and what he is doing. There are many examples of people being in a liminal space in the Bible. An example is in when Jesus meets the two people walking the Emmaus road. Luke 24:13-35 tells the story of how Cleopas and his friend were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. A few days had passed since Jesus was crucified and they were feeling downcast. The world as they knew it had changed. The future now looked uncertain, as all their hopes seemed to be dashed. Then they meet Jesus (although they don’t recognise him until the end of the story) and suddenly hope is returned: ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ (verse 32).

Jesus walks alongside the two men during this time of uncertainty, and gives them encouragement and hope in their waiting. Jesus can do the same for us in our liminal spaces – those spaces where nothing is certain, where we’re waiting for the next step. It is tempting to just return to the familiar, but then we can miss out on the new thing God has in store for us.

My liminal spaces

As I’ve understood more about this idea, I looked back and recognised times when I’ve been in liminal spaces over the years. I have noticed where friends and family have walked alongside me during those uncertain times, encouraging me as I have lingered in the ‘waiting room’ not yet knowing my next step. It has also helped me recognise when others find themselves in these spaces due to transitions in relationships, health or jobs, and given me the opportunity to be that encouraging voice alongside them as they wait.

Liminal space has grown my trust in God! I am an organised person and like to know what I am doing next, so being in this waiting space where the future feels uncertain can feel very stressful. It is tempting to try and move out of liminal space as soon as possible, but sometimes God lets us stay in it for a bit longer, so he can meet with us in a new way. Reading about the Israelites wandering around the desert for 40 years, as they wait for their new home, certainly helped me put my own waiting into perspective!

I’ve had to learn to not rush ahead, or return to the old ways, but to be able to sit with the uncomfortableness of being in this in-between space. To be patient and trust that when the time is right God will lead me out of the waiting room and into the ‘spacious place’ he has for me (Psalm 18:19).

The more I’ve looked into it, the more I have come across others who talk about liminal space and what it means for them. I’ve realised it isn’t something to fear or dread, but an opportunity to have space and time to listen to God. To quote Richard Rohr again, ‘All transformation takes place in liminal space … Liminal space is always holy ground.’