In Between Places

I just returned from taking my husband and stepson to the airport. They fly out to his family in Texas while my stepdaughter and I will follow in two days. The house is hushed save a faint ticking from the living room clock. I am alone. Yet in this silence, an irresistible “in between place” nestles nicely next to yesterday’s early Christmas gathering with my family and Tuesday’s airport departure; two glorious days of unframed creativity splashing imagination across life’s canvas.

I savor in between places; whether a couple of days alone or an interim between present plans and future possibilities. In between places often result in glorious times of respecting divine mystery, advancing skill mastery, and initiating self-discovery.

I find I can learn lessons during these slivers of time. One handy benefit is patience. I wait anxiously while tightly-budded mysteries promise unfurling. I request God’s providence and then try to listen. The resulting silence provokes self-indulgent agony until moving on to exploration. “Perhaps God is ok with me exploring creativity when He seems silent about my destiny,” I muse.

Often answers come in unexpected ways: a new song springs forth, a blog piece forms, or an impromptu photo shoot ensues. Sometimes I meet creative collaborators during these skinny seasons of searching; people who become more than project buddies but enduring friends.

In between places are also times for pursuing new skills mastery. I envision a creativity website requiring more Photoshop lessons in order to advance expertise at filters and layers. The world of work temporarily suspends all demands allowing me to focus on online learning and artistic dabbling.

Another benefit of in between places is self-discovery. Amidst a few interesting additions to manuscripts or the searching through myriads of website layouts, someone a little freer emerges from within. Like a good book one finds and slides from shelf, another creative adventure begins.