I find myself again in the In-Between – that strange period in life that happens from time to time, when one chapter has finished but the next chapter is still unclear.

The trouble with the In-Between is that it can be uncomfortable, frustrating and even a wee bit scary.  Part of me likes to have my future all planned out.  But another part finds the “all planned out” version quite suffocating.  Or maybe that’s just my excuse for not being particularly organised.

The reality is though that there are bills to pay and adventures yet to have –  both of which require some dosh.  So, even though it’s all a bit foggy ahead, I will put on my virtual headlight and venture forth into the unknown once again.

A few years ago, during another In-Between, I had an appointment with a wonderful careers advisor.  It was an involved business, with in-depth personality and aptitude testing.  There were even some hands-on challenges to complete.  (No wonder I can’t load a dishwasher properly – spatial awareness is definitely not my forte!) The results were not quite what I had expected, but looking  back, I wish I had taken his advice a bit more seriously.  I could have saved myself quite a bit of “career” angst.  But we learn as we go, hopefully.

One thing this wise advisor encouraged me to do, was to dream.  To write down a list of my hopes for the future, even the dreamy ones.  I think that’s such a good idea.  Life skips by very quickly, and if we’re not careful we can get so busy with the here and now, that we forget all about working towards our hopes and goals for the future.  And we can forget to dream.

At times we can look toward that future and feel frustrated by the big gap that seems to exist between where we are presently and where we hope to end up.  Perhaps we look back and feel exasperated by our former self – our past choices and actions.  There were probably some decisions made that were just plain dumb.  And maybe some seemingly future-restricting things have happened to us despite our best intentions, things that were totally out of our control.  But that’s just the lot that comes with being human.  It’s what shapes us and makes us individuals.  We each have our own unique story.

Sometimes it can be extremely hard waiting for certain dreams to be fulfilled.  Particularly if  those dreams feel like pivotal life events, such as finding a spouse or becoming parents.  We can do all that is humanly possible to achieve these goals, but ultimately the power to bring these things about is, frustratingly, not completely ours.

I often wonder how it would be if we were given a timeframe about such things.  A Hopes and Dreams Fulfilment Calendar.   Then the lovely young lady who is anxiously looking out for her knight in shining armour, could just relax.  According to her Hopes and Dreams Calendar, she actually has two more years until her long-awaited one arrives on the scene.  Until then, things to do, people to see.  All good.  Or maybe, she would be told that her version of Plan A was not actually going to eventuate – not quite the way that she imagined it anyhow.  In fact, the Designer of her Calendar had a whole different Plan A for her.  Hmm, would that be hard to hear?  Would she trust that that Designer knew what He was doing?

I was watching a gorgeous wee toddler the other day, as he provided entertainment to those around him with his adorable antics.  That boy is cuteness incorporated, truly!  I had chatted with his parents awhile back.  This was their first child and they had waited nine years for him.  That’s a long time of waiting, hoping and dreaming.  If they had been told that after nine years, they would be blessed with this wonderful son, I wonder how those years might have differed from the years they went on to endure?  Would they have learnt what they know now?  Would their faith be what it is now? 

Compared to these hugely significant dreams, our other dreams may not seem quite as important.  But they are our dreams, just the same. And I think they are important to have – as long as they don’t stop us from being present in the here and now and making the most of what we already have.  

If we were privy to our own Calendar, we would then know how much time we had to accomplish all these things, and also, on the practical side, how much money we would likely need for that neatly-packaged future.  We would know how to appoint our time and what to give our attention to, be it over the next forty years, or 10 years, or two weeks…..

But, unfortunately, or maybe actually fortunately, we can’t know these things.  

So, that leaves me choosing to trust in the Maker of my Calendar who, whilst not promising that all will necessarily be roses, does promise that He will be with me through it all – through the hard times, the dreamy times and the foggy In-Between.  I’m so glad about that.

Goodness, that’s all a bit heavy for a Friday night.  Back to the here and now – I’m off to make Christmas gingerbread houses with my beautiful nieces (who are definitely a dream come true!).

Achievement Discoveries https://ad.org.nz/career-guidance