Mind the gap

When gaps appear in our lives they can yawn empty as chasms.

Where is the next big thing coming from?

Isn't it time for something new?

Well, maybe, maybe not.

Sometimes the space indicates loss, missing things, opportunities, relationships.

Even a tiny gap in our teeth can feel huge with tongue exploring round, never mind the cavernous emptiness when a loved one leaves or passes away.

Hearts ache and bleed their loss.

I've been living what feels like a lifetime in the gap, in the waiting-room between the here and now and where I want to be. And it hurts. Maybe you're there too.

When dreams fade and reality kicks us in to touch, when all we have is the memory of what we perceive as normality, then it may just be the time to look at the in-between life differently.

Between sickness and healing.

Between pain and purpose.

Between desire and destiny.

Between confusion and understanding.

Between valley and mountaintop.

Between this world and the next.

What if we could see the gap between where we are now and where we want to be as a learning experience?

If we could stop and savour the moment, right here, right now.

Feel the pulse beat of our own hearts slow and steady to match His.

Find grace and find God.

For He's already here.

Arms wide open. Ears attentive. Heart and senses finely tuned. Voice ready to whisper His wisdom.

He is ready to receive us whenever we pause long enough to notice.

Yes, even when we build walls to close those gaps - walls of resentment, ignorance, pain, confusion and shame.

God's love still seeps through the cracks and empty spaces

Even as we rail and resist the dull and the dry and the downright boring.

Even as we race to fill our lives with anything or anyone, spurning the painful places we dare not venture into.

Dreading the dark and quiet of our own lives.

A thousand unanswered questions on our lips and no time to wait for a reply.

He'll fill those in-between spaces and all our empty places if we let Him

Each day offers us such spaces. 

Resting places. Opportunities for openings.

Breathing stations on the way, if only we could see them as such. 

They are potential grace glimmers, soul savers and survival stopgaps.

Life has many slow, mundane moments. Room for pauses. Listening places where wisdom can be imparted.

The ordinary can become extraordinary depending on our attitude.

"We were made to wait, to long for things unseen. This is the place from which dreams and desires come. It's a place of trust - and we find it not in the resolution, but the incompletion" ~ Jeff Goins 'The In-Between:Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing'

My friend, you and I will find that in-between the mess and muddle of life a message to share is developing.

In-between our tests and trials a testimony of God's grace is shaping itself.

Here, as we are now, between living and dying, every moment counts. Nothing is wasted. God uses every crumb.

I'm still struggling to fully embrace the in-between life as hope deferred makes the heart sick and waiting for life to improve or change can feel like an eternity.

But I want to learn to enjoy the in-between existence because it's where most of our learning and growing take place.

Faith is stretched. Trust develops and grows. Patience can have its way in producing perseverance and endurance.

And perhaps we can learn not to mind having gaps in our goal-getting, pit stops in our progress or spaces in our schedule. 

Will you join me in attempting to live well in the waiting-room places of life? 

We can share and encourage one another to stay strong, live mindfully, be present in the moment and maybe enjoy the journey more because of it. 

How do you feel about the pauses in your life?

Have you found ways to savour the moment?

You can read more on embracing silence here

Or think about savouring the moment here

Please feel free to share in the comments below. I love to hear from and reply to you.

The book quoted from above, 'In-between:Embracing the Tension Between Now and The Next Big Thing' is a new one by Jeff Goins, author of 'Wrecked'. 

It's a beautifully written, semi-autobiographical account of learning to live well in the in-between spaces and places of our lives. And in doing so we may even discover our true calling.

Jeff speaks with a great deal of insight, wisdom and wry humour. It's a powerful, pacey read, full of anecdotal experience to back up the helpful information shared.

I highly recommend it as a truly helpful and informative read to encourage us to make the most of our journey of life and faith.

Savour the moment

Life is meant to be savoured and enjoyed. 

Sometimes we rush through it so quickly, we fail to stop and smell the roses - or any other flower for that matter.

Most of us are so adept at multi-tasking it has become second-nature, an intrinsic part of our way of being.

Even if we are constrained by health problems or other restrictions, it is all too easy to fail to be fully present in the moment.

I thought multi-tasking was beyond me as an M.E and chronic illness sufferer, but I was wrong. 

Having just committed to a 30 day challenge to be "intentional about being fully present, tackling one task alone, wherever you are", I was brought face to face with my failure to do just that.

Margaret Feinberg offered an opportunity to join a "crazypants challenge" during which she asks, "Could it be possible that focussing on one task at a time makes life better and more enjoyable?" 

The main motivation is to "make more space for meaningful relationships, including our relationship with God".

Even if I live a pretty inactive life by most standards, it turns out that I still multi-task. 

Here's how:

• Eating breakfast while scanning my phone, texting, tweeting, reading.
• Drinking coffee/tea as I try to read the papers, check the phone (again), whilst maintaining a pretence of conversing with my beloved and helping him with the daily crossword puzzle.
• Reading erm...up the table or watching TV while eating lunch.
• Using the laptop with various 'windows' open at once so I can flit with ease between e-mails, writing, blogging, reading blogs, commenting, Twitter, Facebook, internet browsing.
• Resting in bed while reading, checking my mobile phone when it beeps, finding body and mind hard to relax..surprise, surprise.
• Eating dinner and making conversation with my husband, sometimes with the PC on in the background and often with TV audible from the living room.
• Watching TV as I talk through the programmes (bad habit) maybe glance at/read a book, have a drink/snack, chat to my Other Half, browse social media etc...
• Go to bed and read, pray, write a bit, try to sleep, jot down precious thoughts, poetry and insights so I don't forget them, pray, count sheep...say "Goodnight" to my beloved, listen to his snoring, count sheep, Zzzzz....

You get the picture.

I'm not proud of my inattention. It can't be helping me to function well.

Part of the problem may actually be due to having a chronic illness and needing to rest up a lot through the day. My 'wakeful' periods tend to become filled with a quiet desperation to make the most of them. Though this way of carrying on probably isn't it.

Having a butterfly mind that flits hither and thither is a distinct disadvantage (and energy drainer) to an already fatigued, foggy, fretful, forgetful brain.

So you can see why I really need to do this challenge!

We can easily tune out God's voice, but if that persists He may be forced to take more drastic measures at times to regain our attention.

"We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world" ~ C.S. Lewis 'The Problem of Pain'

In an attempt to really concentrate on one task, I asked God to speak to me through His word as I was reading Psalm 147. Quietening myself before Him seems to work well as I start the day but there is a tendency to forget to reconnect with Him as the day progresses.

As I read and re-read the passage, verse 18 seemed to leap out at me:

"He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow"

He sends his word..God takes the initiative. He begins the process whereby we hear from Him.

and melts them..Our hard hearts are melted. The icy veil we pull over our hurt feelings becomes a soft puddle. Frozen emotions are thawed as we respond to His love.

he stirs up his breezes..Again, the activity is first and foremost from God. The wind of the Holy Spirit is in the air, scent of new life to invigorate and cleanse out the old. Spring arrives and change occurs with an awareness of the gentle rustling sigh of His Presence.

and the waters flow..Our tears may fall. There is an unimpeded flow as stagnant waters now flow freely. Dank pools of resentment and unforgiveness are cleared. A refreshing rain, cleansing and watering anointing for dry souls that thirst for a touch of grace to baptise us.

Those few minutes of undivided attentiveness yielded great abundance.

If I'd simply read once, scanned briefly then moved on, I would have missed so much more that God was willing to teach me.

How many more precious moments of insight could come from being fully present?

How many more conversations would be deep, rich and meaningful rather than lead to confusion and misunderstanding simply because I fail to listen properly?

How much of life's enjoyment escapes eyes that skim the surface?

Sadly, far too much.

So, I am going to have a go, to try to do one thing well instead of several things badly, to give people due consideration, to give life due attention and - most important of all - give God the time and focus He deserves.

As His One Word for me this year is, "Come" then I am signally failing to heed it if I prioritise other people and things or only pay Him scant attention when I do.

I may not succeed every day. 

I won't be able to record every attempt.

But I want to zoom in, get up close, really see the things that are there, notice what's around me, be awed, amazed and..yes..Wonderstruck anew at God's goodness and grace.

What would it be like to glide with swan-like serenity through the choppy waters of adversity, with eyes calmly fixed on the route ahead?

Far better, I expect, than duck-dabbling with furious, flustered paddling going on beneath the waves.

Perhaps this 30 day challenge will enable me to live with the peace of trusting God for each moment, this moment only, then the next, and so on..

Will you join me? Uni-taskers unite!

You don't have to take part for 30 days, but if you do then you and I are giving ourselves enough time to form new habits that may transform our lives.

Our friends and loved ones will benefit and so will we.

Let's try to savour the moment...starting now.

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