Joy in the In-Between
The end of February and the first days of March have always seemed like a bittersweet and silent "in-between" time in the calendar year.
My soul doesn’t know whether to anticipate … or to linger.
I don’t know whether to nestle in … or to prepare.
Winter … during this “meanwhile” month … is beginning to whimper rather than to roar. And yet that old, cold man hopes to gather renewed strength and to howl with fierce, arctic intensity at least one more time before the surprise of spring intervenes.
"O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?" -Percy Bysshe Shelley
Spring … at the onset of March … is predictably beginning to awake from its slumber ... and even so… it yawns then again lays its expectant head under the blanket of frost provided by the late winter mornings.
"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'" - Lewis Carroll
The early days of March are gray ... with a bit of brave sunshine peeking through in the afternoon.
The mornings remain chilly ... yet not cold enough to take one's breath away in the pre-dawn hours.
"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." - Hal Borland
During this conflicted third month of the calendar year … the furnace in my home is somedays a necessary part of our comfort ... and yet on other days … I throw the windows wide open during this confusing, hard to define period of time.
"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." - Charles Dickens
Is it winter? Or is it spring?
It seems to me that March … of all of the months of the year … has an identity crisis … a civil war of the soul … a conundrum that lasts for 31 days.
Life is often like this, isn't it? We frequently find ourselves living in the in-between ...
We don’t build a life on the mountain top nor in the valley ... but we find ourselves discovering contentment in the glory of the in-between.
We are not defined by the exclamatory nor by the mundane ... but a life well-lived is fought for in the in-between.
I am so thankful that God is faithful to be with me ... even in the in-between.
He is not moved by times or by seasons ... but He is with me in it all.
It is His faithful presence that turns the "in between" into the glorious ... the ordinary into the miraculous ... and the interim into the amazing.
“Eternal spring is in my heart” – Victor Hugo
March will march forward … with both fierce winds and with gentle days.
And I will build a life … not in the instability of time … but in the resplendent shelter of His presence.
“So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth.” – Hosea 6:3
If you are feeling like I am this month, like you're in the in-between...can I invite you to attend our Meanwhile Women's Conference on March 25 & 26? We are going to be studying the story of Joseph. Now there's someone who knows how to find joy in the "meanwhile" seasons! You can attend in person with me in West Seneca, NY or virtually from the comfort of your home. If you'd like to register, you can do so here: Meanwhile Women's Conference
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart, but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is.