The In-Between Days

I want to talk about something I think we all experience at some point in our lives.

The space between chapters.

You know that place? Where something has ended, but you don't quite know what's next.

Maybe you've left a job.

Maybe a relationship has changed.

Maybe your children have grown up.

Maybe you've retired.

Or maybe nothing dramatic has happened at all. You just have this feeling that something is shifting.

We talk a lot about beginnings and endings. We celebrate the new job, the new relationship, the new adventure. And we grieve the things that ended. But we don't talk as much about the space in between.

That place where you're not quite who you were, but you're not quite sure who you're becoming either.

Those are the in-between days.

And I'll be honest…I don't always love that space.

I like knowing what's next. I like having a plan. Maybe you can relate.

I think we all have this tendency to want to make a decision. Keep moving. Figure it out. We want to know what's around the corner.

But what if we didn't?

What if we challenged ourselves to stay in the in-between for a little while?

What if this space isn't something we need to fix?

What if it's actually a place where we can pause long enough to hear ourselves think?

A place to ask:

What do I really want right now?

What am I ready to let go of?

What am I curious about?

And maybe we don't need to answer those questions right away. Maybe we're allowed to just sit with them.

I actually love the words:

“I don't know yet.”

Because “I don't know yet” leaves the door open.

It doesn't mean we're lost. It means we're still listening.

And I think there's something really powerful about giving ourselves permission to not have the answer. Especially as we get older, we can sometimes feel like we should have it all figured out by now. We should know what we want. We should know what's next.

But maybe life doesn't work that way. Maybe there are seasons when we're meant to be between things. Between who we were and who we're becoming. Between what was and what will be.

And instead of rushing through those days, maybe we can learn to be curious about them, So if you're in an in-between season right now, I want to challenge you to resist the urge to immediately fill the space.

You don't have to figure out your next chapter.

You don't have to make a decision.

You don't have to become anything.

Give yourself permission to simply be where you are. And pay attention.

Notice what you're drawn toward.

Notice what no longer feels right.

Notice what keeps coming back to your mind.

Notice what makes you feel a little more alive.

You might be surprised by what you hear when you stop trying so hard to figure it all out.

Because sometimes the next chapter doesn't announce itself.

Sometimes it quietly begins to reveal itself while we're sitting in the space between. So maybe, just for today, you can say:

I don't know yet.

And be okay with that.

Actually, maybe even be curious about it.

Because you never know what might be waiting on the other side of yet.