Crossing the Threshold

At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. Judges 19:26-27 (NKJV)

After golf practice, my son was thirsty, so we stopped at a convenience store for a drink. I handed him a few dollars, and as he returned, some of the change slipped from his hand and rolled under the car. I asked him to pick it up, but his response was, “Just leave it. It’s only a quarter.” To him, it wasn’t worth the effort to retrieve as though it had no value. But in that moment, my mind went back to a different season of my life when money was tight and every coin mattered.

As I shared this memory with my son, listening to his reasoning of the trouble it would be to retrieve the coin, I finally backed up so the coin was within his reach. I realized how easy it is to dismiss what seems small, insignificant or worthless, especially when we look at ourselves through this lens.

The concubine was forced into a horrific situation, abused all through the night and treated as if she had no value. When she was released, and in survival mode, she made her way back to the place she had been expelled by her husband. But still searching for hope, her strength slowly faded as she reached the door but could go no further. She collapsed, stretched out her weary hands to grip the threshold–a point of entry she would never cross.

Have you ever felt like her? All hope has been lost due to circumstances beyond your control… you feel you have no value, no safe place to retreat, and no strength to cross the threshold?

After teaching incarcerated women for well over a decade, I’ve learned there is very little difference between them and women who sit in church every Sunday. Prison is a mindset. I have sat with many women in both settings, listening to their stories as they seek to cross the threshold to freedom, but what I often see is a pattern…many return to unstable situations simply because they feel they have no hope or value.  The concubine returned to an unstable place seeking hope but she gave up at threshold. Some women take courage and are able to cross over while others collapse at the door.

When we feel dismissed, overlooked or devalued, (and we have all been there), it’s easy to collapse or “roll under” and hide beneath the weight of past failures. The whispered labels in our mind try to define who we are, “divorced, struggles with addiction, past abortion, incarceration, controlled by fear and anxiety...and the list goes on. The enemy will speak, “You have no hope, no value and no way out of this situation.”  We often see the threshold through the blur of tears but lack the strength and courage to cross over to freedom.

We may see ourselves through the lens of the struggle but God sees value. With Him, nothing you have gone through is wasted.  Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7 NKJV).

You have value! God sees you! You are the bride of Christ and it is His great love for His bride that will carry you over the threshold.  He will give you strength in the struggle and wipe your tears to clearly see the threshold to freedom.  Keep walking. You are crossing over!

Cindy Crosswhite, an ordained minister with the Church of God, serves on the Tennessee Women’s Ministries Board, has served on the board of Tennessee Valley Adult and Teen Challenge for over 10 years, while ministering to the incarcerated for over 12 years. Additionally, she has been a licensed realtor for over 21 years.  Her heart for reaching women both incarcerated and outside the walls has birthed a book, coming soon, “The Pew and the Prison”.

Cindy and her husband of 21 years, Jeff, have served as evangelists, church revitalizers, pastors and currently as senior pastors in Knoxville, TN. They have one precious son, Owen (17).