How to Stay Faithful to God in Homemaking During In-Between Seasons

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In seasons of uncertainty, it can be hard to know what to do next. This devotional shares how to stay faithful to God in homemaking during in-between seasons—when there is no clear direction, no peace yet, and no obvious next step—by tending the small things, trusting God’s faithfulness, and walking closely with Christ Jesus in everyday life.

About a month ago, we were one hundred percent certain we were going to sell our home. So certain that we signed paperwork with a realtor.

We prayed. We talked. We made plans. It felt like movement. It felt like something big was coming.

And then… hiccups.

Doors that didn’t quite open. Details that didn’t quite line up. Conversations that didn’t quite settle. And now?

We are in what I can only call an in-between season.

Are we staying?
Are we leaving?
Are we preparing for great things somewhere else?
Or are we meant to continue the good work God has given us right here?

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When God Gives Peace — and When He Doesn’t

Normally, in my own life, God tends to work in one of two ways.

Sometimes, He gives me peace first. A peace that settles deep in my spirit — the kind Paul talks about in Philippians 4.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6, ESV

That the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, that kind of peace helps me take purposeful steps.

Other times, He gives the steps first. There may not be immediate peace, but the direction is obvious. Doors open. Circumstances align. I can see God’s hand clearly moving us forward, and I trust that the peace will follow in proper time.

But right now?

We have neither.

Staying Faithful to God When There Is No Clear Direction

No peace.
No clear direction.
Just jumbled thoughts and a quiet waiting.

And if I’m honest, that feels harder than the dark valleys. At least in difficult times, you know what you’re facing. In the in-between, you’re just suspended.

This is usually one of my favorite times of year.

This is when I start planning the garden. I dream about what kind of baby chicks I want to order. We call our pig lady and reserve piglets. I map out homesteading goals and feel that fresh burst of vision.

But this year, I can’t.

If we’re leaving, it wouldn’t make sense.
If we’re staying, I don’t want to miss the window.

And that joy I usually feel? It feels snatched away.

But here’s what the Holy Spirit has been gently pressing onto my heart:

The in-between season can be so filled with faithfulness.

Faithfulness in the Small Things at Home

As I’m standing here starting kefir — something slow and steady that cultures over time — I’m reminded that growth doesn’t require certainty. Kefir doesn’t need a five-year plan. It just needs daily tending.

As I mix up this cottage cheese egg bake, I’m still feeding my family. Still nourishing the people God has entrusted to me. Whether we move or stay, they still need breakfast tomorrow.

Transformation often happens quietly. Slowly. Without fanfare.

And as we open up our new Ocean Unit for homeschool, I’m still stewarding these children’s minds. Still planting the word of God onto the tablet of their hearts. Still living out my marriage vows in the sight of God. Still showing up in the small things.

How many times have you heard a promise from God and attempted to take control of it? I think something that has been important for me lately is recognizing that I need to stop making my own plans and expecting God to join in. I need to start seeking His plan first and then wait.

If listening becomes your starting point, then when God speaks of something inconceivable, instead of asking, “How will I ever do that?” you’ll say, “I can’t wait to see how God will make this happen.”

I think sometimes, as faithful Christians, we try to help God along.

We hear a nudge. We see a possibility. And instead of waiting on the Lord Jesus Christ, we run ahead in our own ways, asking Him to bless it.

But Scripture says:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. — Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV)

Right now, there is no straight path visible.

But that doesn’t mean God’s faithfulness has wavered.

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Formed in the Waiting

The Apostle Paul wrote much of the New Testament in seasons he never would have chosen. Prison. Hardship. Long stretches of waiting. And yet the fruit of the Spirit flowed from him — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness — even in confinement.

That fruit wasn’t dependent on his circumstances. It was rooted in Christ Jesus.

And I’m realizing something: the in-between season is where the fruit of the Spirit is often formed. Anyone can be faithful when the vision is clear. Anyone can feel joy when the dream is unfolding. But what about when the plans stall?

What about when you’ve already told people you’re moving?

What about when your heart is ready for change, but God seems quiet?

How to Be a Faithful Servant in an In-Between Season

Jesus tells a parable about a faithful servant — one who was faithful in small things and was told,

“Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:21, ESV

He doesn’t say, “Well done, visionary planner.”

He doesn’t say, “Well done, strategic decision-maker.”

He says faithful. And in the same parable, there is a lazy servant — one who buried what he was given because he was afraid and uncertain. The in-between season tempts us toward that kind of burying.

“Why start anything?”
“Why plan?”
“Why invest here if we might leave?”

But faithfulness says:

Tend to the animals you already have.
Prepare the house as if you’re moving — but love it as if you’re staying.
Be diligent in homeschool.
Render the lard.
Start the kefir.
Cook the meal.
Pray without ceasing.
Stay in God’s word.

Melissa K. Norris often encourages women to homestead right where they are. You don’t need acres. You don’t need perfect timing. You start with what’s in your hands.

And right now, that wisdom feels like a word from the Lord.

I don’t need clarity to be faithful. I don’t need a moving date to pursue healthy habits in my kitchen. I don’t need certainty about our future to raise my children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God’s people have always lived like this — walking by faith, not by sight.

The Christian life was never meant to be controlled. It was meant to be surrendered.

And surrender, in my own life, has rarely felt dramatic. It looks like washing dishes. It looks like choosing not to entertain every negative thought. It looks like opening the Word of God, even when my heart feels unsettled.

It looks like saying, “O Lord, I don’t know what You’re doing. But I trust Your kindness. I trust Your sovereignty. I trust that at the proper time, You will make things clear.”

I have recently revived my kefir grains and reintroduced my kids to kefir smoothies. I have been pleasantly surprised by how much they are LOVING the strawberry lemonade supergreens from Paleovalley. In one scoop, they are getting 23 organic superfoods filled with valuable nutrients. In one scoop, we are getting superfoods like kale, broccoli, spirulina, spinach, turmeric, parsley, ginger, carrots, lemon, strawberry, cranberry, beets, and many more.

The in-between is not wasted time

Galatians 6:9 says,

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (ESV)

Due season.
Not my season.
Not my timeline.
His.

The in-between is not wasted time. It is preparation. It is heart work. It is holy ground where God shapes us into faithful servants — not just when we see the outcome, but when we don’t.

Maybe the greatest testimony of a faithful Christian is not in the big moves or the bold announcements.

Maybe it’s in the quiet perseverance. In the long time of waiting. In the choice to remain obedient in small things.

I don’t know yet if we’re staying in this home or leaving.

But I do know this: If we leave, I want to leave as someone who was faithful here until the very last day. And if we stay, I want to stay as someone who trusted God’s hand even when I couldn’t see what He was doing.

Living for Eternal Things While We Wait

Because our ultimate home isn’t here anyway.

Our hope isn’t tied to acreage or opportunity or plans.

It’s anchored in Christ Jesus and the promise of eternal life.

So in this in-between season, I’m choosing this:

I will start the kefir.
I will make the egg bake.
I will teach the Ocean Unit.
I will open my Bible.
I will pray.
I will tend to what is in front of me.

And I will trust that the same God who calls us to faithfulness in small things is working behind the scenes in great things.

When the season shifts — because it will — I don’t want to say, “How will I ever do that?”

I want to say, “I can’t wait to see how God will make this happen.”

Until then?

We remain faithful.

In the in-between.