iMessage Text Field and Lock Up

I have been having two strange issues with iMessage for a few months now. 1) At least a couple times a week when I attempt to compose a text or respond to a text in the iMessage app the text box gets pushed to the top of the screen with my messages leaving a significant amount of white space (image 1). 2) often when the text field is tapped the field and the send icon (blue/green arrow) disappear leaving only the keyboard visible (image 2). While it appears I am still able to type I cannot see what I am typing nor am I able to send the message. More importantly, when this error occurs I lose the ability to travel outside the iMessage app. Swiping up on the "home bar" at the bottom of my screen (I have an iPhone XS) does nothing. Furthermore I cannot access the control center or notifications by gesturing from either of the top corners. The only exception to this is when I have been in another app recently and I can tap the previous app command on the top left corner. However, doing so and closing iMessages does not always solve the issue. If iMessage is the only app I have open my only option is to restart my phone.

I keep my phone up to date and and as of the last time this event happened (5/15/2019) I was running IOS 12.2. From what I read IOS 12.3 does not solve this issue. It's also important to note that this issue has been occurring since before IOS 12.2 was release so it doesn't seem to be something that has been addressed yet. Has anyone experience similar issues? Or does anyone have any suggestions on how to resolve this problem. It is becoming increasingly frustrating. Thanks!

Image 1:

Image 2