I’ve been stuck on this for the last week. 

It’s no secret that life is made up of the moments in between the moments. The hammer impact is only possible because of the long arc of the arm beforehand.

The already-tired metaphor of social media being a highlight reel is true. And now we’re finding this seeping lack of content in our lives when “nothing is going on.” 

But it’s the sweet spot.

Laying on the couch watching a movie. The monotony of your morning run, 6 months in. Coffee at 7 before you head to work – maybe alone, maybe with your SO. Cleaning the house as a family on Saturday afternoon. The park.

There’s this movie that came out recently called Tully. Charlize Theron plays a new mom, and they get this rebel girl nanny in her early 20s. Charlize is jealous of the drama of this impetuous woman, and they get into a yelling fight at one point. “Why are you mad? This is what you dreamed of!” shouts the younger. “Stability; love.” She’s right.

I’m not proposing we abandon risk. I love adventure and crave a challenge. I like to splash the unknown in the ramen bowl of my life. Balance in all.

We have to embrace the contentment within those in between moments. Rest in, recharge in, and enjoy them instead of becoming frustrated or depressed in the lack of climactic moments. No one wants a whole meal of the hot sauce – it’s meant to flavor and accentuate the main focus.

On Thursdays, we get together at some friends’ house for a weekly dinner.

We were talking afterwards about this piece in the Bible where Paul is in the middle of all these crazy things happening, and then it says simply that two years passed while he was on a soft version of house arrest. The next sentence picks right back up with interesting and dramatic happenings. 

What happened for those two years?!

I’m often there. In those years / places where nothing is happening. Which is of course a lie – so much is happening. But none of those “big moments.” Your friend says to you “hey what’s been going on?” and you say “Uh, nothing, really. Just work. Khamira’s in school. We go to the Y on Tuesdays. I’m experimenting with curry a bit.” And maybe you feel your “in between moments” answer is lacking the hook. 

Some of this is just cliché rhetoric, but it’s been on my mind this week. I felt like I was losing focus on pieces of life because we’re “headed towards ____” or “almost to _____.” Friendships are built up in those in between moments. Families are molded. Skills are mastered. 

Fall in love with the lack of the hook.