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finding who we are in the in-between

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Sydney, Australia

Waiting, wishing, thinking, hoping.

There is something so uncomfortable about the in-between.

A pause, an awkwardness or just an expectancy that taunts us.

No matter how wise and seasoned we are in the wait, the space between realisation and confirmation is a heavy one.

Have you walked a season of waiting well?

What season are you in at the moment?

Is there a pause, that is holding you breathless?

Are you confused?

Are you stuck?

Are you frustrated?

I understand the difficulty of this place of unknowing. The teeth that grit, the heart that holds its breath, the mind rolls the same scenario, over and over.

On the weekend, I spoke at a conference, full of creative brilliance and each hour that passed my nerves pulsed. I was asked back in February to speak at this event and pretty much within the week I knew that I wanted to speak on “the in-between”. I live quite an isolated creative walk however, so coming into the weekend, I was questioning whether I was truly on the right page of what was needed. I took the opportunity seriously and wanted so much to bring my best.

Then Saturday afternoon arrived with a last minute change to the program and a young man jumped on the stage to play a song soon to be released on his EP. He started to play the piano and introduced his song saying “my song is called the in-between“. In all the waiting, in all the hoping, I suddenly knew in a second that I was right where I was meant to be. With a massive smile on my face, only the pianist and I knew that this was a complete fluke and we had been truly set up by the Divine Interrupter.

He knows more than we know.

He cares more than we could ever feel.

He loves, so deeply that his detail can be seen in the most bizarre of moments.

As you step into places this month with me, asking questions of yourself about the waiting space, I pray that you would be amazed by details and stories, showing you are walking in step, seeking answers from the One who sees.

I am determined to keep sharing vulnerably, with authenticity this month as I explore the topic of waiting. I love what Brene Brown says about living our lives this way;

“If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.”

As we share our stories and struggles this month, I am believing that shame will disappear and truth, encouragement and hope will be found in its midst.

If you are in an in-between space, you are very welcome here. I cannot wait to hear more of your story.

Thanks for starting this new journey with me as we all read together stories of waiting, hope, disappointment, confusion, expectancy and loss.

August may just be my favourite month of all.

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she is patient in waiting

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Osprey Island, Shoalwater WA

You would think I would be a veteran at waiting after all the different seasons I have passed through but unfortunately not. I still struggle and wrestle in the wait.

I may be a little better in the way I try to control situations, but I am someone who waits quite badly. Escaping has always been one of my modes of coping and I am learning as I grow older, that standing and facing the situation is more important than the final outcome.

How do you go in the wait?

Do you tap your feet?

Do you cross your arms?

Are you frustrated at God?

A woman of wisdom is content in her today and hopeful for her tomorrow.

She does the in-between gracefully and relishes in the wait.

One of the most formational scriptures from the whole bible for me has been this poem from Ecclesiastes 3: 2-8

 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

I know in my heart of hearts, there is always a time and place for everything but the in between seasons of life often trip me up.

I read a quote recently that completely arrested me;

“Instead of waiting for your next holiday, why not set up a life that you are not trying to escape from” Seth Godin

This quote totally sums up the way I used to live my life. I would work hard, then run away. I would have a difficult conversation with someone then escape. I would drive a goal all the way home then fly away to recover. Lately I am learning to set up a life of inspiration and recovery, where I am satisfied in the wait. I am learning all about being in the present and not needing something in the future to drag me through. I don’t have this area all worked out, but I am learning to slow burn areas of my life that I feel supremely passionate about.

As I wait for dreams and goals to come to pass, I am learning to enjoy the stretch of the wait.

Proverbs 8: 34 says it this way

Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home!

A woman of wisdom digs her well very deeply so that she waits joyfully in expectation.

I love how A.A Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh puts it…

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

Can you truly say you are okay in the in-between seasons of life?

This my friend is one of the calls wisdom, to slow ourselves, to be content and live the life that is before us, expectantly awaiting good things in the future.

Tomorrow’s post is here: She is more precious than jewels

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