Get Me Out of Here!

This month, I've been immersing myself in a new book. It's titled The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. Jeff Goins is the amazing author, and as I've read, I've found myself on a journey of reflection. It's been like taking a trip back in time to see where I've come from, how far I've gotten in life, and where I'm heading. The most important part? The In-Between...

In the introduction to the first part of the three-part book, Jeff mentions how while we are young, we long for freedoms that haven't come. The one he mentions that I most relate to is this: the chance to move away and see the world.

You see, I come from small-town America. I grew up in Margaretville, NY. Population about 600. When you gather the children from the surrounding small towns and pack them into the one K-12 school, you have about the same number. My graduating class? 24. It's the town where everyone thinks they know everyone else's business. It's the town 50 miles from the nearest Walmart or Regal Cinemas. It's the town that someone who wasn't born there can't wait to leave when they're handed their high school diploma.

In 1992, I ran from Margaretville, ready to escape everyone else's ideas of who I was. Ready to be me. Ready to face life on my own. Ready to embrace my future - a future away from small town living. Because, after all, what good can come out of Margaretville, NY?

"We were made to wait, to long for things unseen. This is the place from which dreams and desires come." - Jeff Goins, The In-Between

I grew up dreaming of being someone. Because I learned in third grade that I was the nobody. I was the freckle-faced, four-eyed, non-beautiful girl that was only good for kick ball. I was the last.

So I started writing. I journaled. I wrote angst poetry. I put all my thoughts on paper.

The only thing I loved as much as writing was music. I had a life soundtrack. I listened to everything and anything under the sun. I relished the sounds, the stories, and the dream of one day making it big.

But I wasn't talented enough to sing in a band. I wasn't talented enough to be a key musician in a band (although I tried once - as a keyboardist in a band called Toe Jam - we obviously didn't get out of the garage). And my young mind didn't know there was a whole industry behind those artists I sang along with at the top of my lungs.

So when it came time, I pursued the writing dream. I desired to write for the glossy magazines like Bop and Teen Beat. I wanted to tell the celebrity's stories. And off to college I went.

Until I fell into a really deep pit and did what I always swore I would never do.

And that's where I met Jesus. And when I couldn't maintain my relationship with Him because it was crowded out by the boys I chased, I decided to...

Return home. Yep, I left big time college and headed back to small town life. I headed home.

And back to waiting for the next big thing.

All this waiting is not an accident; it's a call to slow down. These delays are meant to point us to a deeper truth: we are not finished. If we relish this reality and embrace the opportunity it holds, we may be able to grasp a depth we've not yet reached. We may find this abundant life, after all. 

- Jeff Goins, The In-Between

Join me tomorrow for part two of my journey with the In-Between. I'll let you know what happened as I waited for the next big thing.

This week, I will be preparing for another journey ... to a new season of life for our family. A new in-between. A new season of waiting and discovering and savoring the ordinary moments in life that lead to the extraordinary events of life. I will leave a post each day, Monday through Friday, for you to enjoy and think upon as I prepare for and make my trip. These posts will lead up to where I find myself today, and I hope that they encourage you to enjoy the wait.

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/ Jeff has some great giveaways for ordering The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

On Saturday, enjoy my review of The In-Between.