Friday, June 28, 2013

Five Minutes of In Between

Joining in with Lisa Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday today.  The rules are simple-write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word, then link back to her blog and invite others to join the party.  Don't forget to leave a comment for the writer who linked up just before you.

Y'all know how I feel about 'unedited', but I'm jumping in anyway.

Today's word-In between

I live in the land of in between. That time and space known to some as middle age, but to me as the great gulf of in between. The place where I wait for what's next. The place where my young adult daughters are making some of life's most important decisions, decisions with consequences that will stretch far beyond their own future season of in between.

The place where they want to steer their own course, yet know in their heart of hearts they still need their momma to listen, encourage, and pray....to resist telling them precisely what to do, yet confirm the direction they're heading is the right one.  They need a soft touch, a gentle suggestion, prayer as deep as the ocean.

I have one daughter living in a city that is not here, completely independent yet still calling home when her car won't start, she's lost her keys, or she needs a splash of the unconditional love of a mother for her daughter.

I have another daughter, also living in her own apartment in a state that is not here, finishing graduate school, job-hunting,  preparing to move to yet another far from home city. A daughter who occasionally still needs her momma to get on an airplane and sleep beside her as she wrestles with a future that is full of excitement, possibility, and questions for which there are no sure answers.

The land of in between is a place where your twenty-something daughters sometimes give you a sweet glimpse of their seven year old selves. A place, where for a minute, you long for the glorious days of young motherhood, yet know if actually given the chance you wouldn't go back.

It's the place where you look at your once upon a time pony-tailed, hula hooping, dress up wearing, children of your heart and say wow. It's the place where you have a spectacular view of how God's design for the seasons of parenting is good and perfect. Where your heart is fuller than it ever was, and where you realize each stage you've walked through with your children was your favorite.

The land of in between is a place where a husband who has worked hard all his life dreams of retirement. Where the dream is close enough to taste, but not quite close enough to touch. The place where instead of an office or an airport, he'll spend hours tinkering with a boat at the end of a dock. A place we can both see as clearly as if we were standing there now, except we're not. We're still in between.

The land of in between is a sometimes restless place. A place of looking back and looking forward, but struggling some days to look at the now. A place where time is easily wasted waiting for the what's next. A place where you feel young and still full to overflowing with plans...still dreaming of accomplishing much and big and meaningful, working to reconcile what you feel on the inside with what you see on the outside.

The land of in between is a place where I've met God anew. It's in this season He has given me the gift of empty spaces to be filled up with the knowledge of Him. The place He knew I'd need to be way back when I was still reading bedtime stories to freshly bathed little girls in footie pajamas, whose soft sweet curls made me feel all was right with the world.

It's a place to think, reflect, and plan. A place to pray more and deep and big. A place to rest after walking the winding trail to here. A place to make us ready for what's across the gulf of in between.

17 comments:

  1. Your beautifully written post had me in tears this morning. I'm the 20-something daughter. I'm married now, so my phone calls home for help are fewer in between but they were not that long ago. I'm also the mother who is about to enter the stage of footie pajamas and nights of reading books (we are adopting two little girls from Africa). Your post reminded me to love the season I'm in and to see the beauty of it. Thank you.

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  2. This is perfect. No editing needed. I am in this exact place of in between too.

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  3. This is perfect. No editing needed. I am in this exact place of in between too.

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  4. This is just beautiful and so true. I think a lot about the future, but need to remember to live my life now. And, you are right - girls in their 20's, just starting out, need all the prayers we can give them. Have a great weekend Joyce :-)

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  5. Thinking backward and forward is something we all do. Learning to live in and enjoy the now and find all that is good about it is not always easy.....it sounds like you are doing a good job of finding the good in this "in-between" time.

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  6. I LOVED this! Soo well written and thought out. I am not really sure WHERE I am anymore. I think at the very end of middle aged, and headed rapidly into old, haha. Probably because I got started at such a young age with children of my own. My oldest is 40, though I am still only 58! But my youngest is only 26. She has been married for 5 years now and lives 1000 miles away from me, and has two babies of her own. She still calls me (almost daily) for advice, prayer, encouragement, and with joyful stories, but honestly I have seen a real changing in maturity this last year or so. All is as it should be. I don't spend as much time looking back as I did the first couple of years she was gone, but instead focus on my present probably more than at any other time in my life. The years of being a grandmother are some of the best so far, but your right, it is hard not to remember each stage as the best ones! Enjoy your week-end!

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  7. Wow, you are a fast typer! LOL I'm enjoying my in between time. I'm not looking forward to spending every day with this man at home following me around asking why I'm doing what I'm doing AND why I'm doing it the way I'm doing it. No thanks! LOL

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  8. Beautifully written!Have a wonderful weekend with Daughter 1 !

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  9. I love this. It brought tears to my eyes because I have 2 daughters and I can only imagine what it will be like when they are all grown up. It will come before I know it and I just hope I appreciated the time I have now. I am tempted to have the wrong perspective on the time "in between" but after today, writing and reading, I realize that are the greater part of life. If we continue to look beyond it we may miss what is in front of us.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  10. The land of in between can be a great place to be--or not! Ed's edging closer and closer to retirement age, and it's a bit scary to think about how all that will eventually play out.

    You did a great job with your post, as always!

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  11. I am on the exact same path and you perfectly captured the ups and downs of this uncertain, inbetween stage.
    I guess we will just keep on walking until we get where we are going, enjoying all of the seasons. It is so good to know that God is travelling along!

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  12. Love this, Joyce. Because it's exactly where we are. :)

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  13. You're sure that was only five minutes? You must type as fast as you think. You have really captured so many of my thoughts well. I do wonder if maybe everyone feels "in between," wherever they are in life?

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  14. What a superb post Joyce! I so related to so many of your thoughts, so much of our lives are "inbetween" times.

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  15. I love, love, LOVE this. You described some of what I"m feeling so well. Thank you.

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  16. I definitely think for more than five minutes. I always try to write a post in my head before I type.

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  17. In between..... a place I'm all too familiar with.

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