In Between

What do you do with the space in between?
The space between your dreams & the perhaps not so shiny daily reality.
The seemingly large chasm between here & there.
Between what you want & what you have.
The gap between the life you were designed to live & the live you’re living.
What do you do with the space between a Kingdom that is here & not yet?
A hope that is realized & yet to come.
The gray space between the darkness & the light.
What do you do with the space in between? The kind of space that creates tension. 

I think we usually do one of three things:

  1. Make a choice. Pick one side or the other. Simply to alleviate the tension.
  2. Attempt to run out of the space in a completely different direction.
  3. Wait. Sit in the space. Accept the tension. And wait.

Number one often leads to poor choices that we end up wishing we could hit the rewind button on at some point. The second often leads to the same thing. Before we know it the life we’re living looks nothing like the one we know we were created for. 

The third option? It may be the hardest & most immediately painful of all. But, I’m convinced it’s also the most rewarding. And even more than that, the tension of the space in between may be the birth place of some of our greatest creativity. 

So I encourage you to sit in the space. But don’t just sit there. Ask God to meet you in the space. Learn from it. And more importantly, fill it. Fill the space with beauty through your art. Extinguish the darkness with the light. You may just discover that the space was not as unwelcoming as you once thought…that it didn’t want you to stay anymore than you wanted to be there. And before you know it, you might look back to find that you’ve created your way out of it.

 What do YOU do with the space in between?

*** This post was inspired by the Luminous Project. Luminous is an event in Nashville for creatives on May 9-11, 2012. To find out more, check out luminousproject.com. You can use the promo code ‘luminousLOVE’ to get 30% off the ticket price. ***

 

With courage, Katie

15 comments

  1. "the tension of the space in between may be the birth place of some of our greatest creativity." I completely agree. I moved this summer, and will only be living in this city for 1 year before moving again. It forced me to look at my goals and time differently. I have to live in this space, yet I know this space is only temporary. This space is what birthed my blog. I am so grateful for what God has been doing in me as a result of this "in between."

  2. This is a great post. As someone who is living in that space, trying to take small, intentional steps toward the ultimate goal, this is greatly appreciated. Living in the in between is frustrating, tiring and altogether necessary. I pray that we allow ourselves to be refined as he meets us in the space.

  3. I think you are right, Katie. We get to make that choice. It is really tough sometimes, but it is a choice. When we do nothing, then that is a choice too. Thanks for the encouragement to be in and then fill that space.

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