Welcome March | the In-Between Season

Hi Friend!

We have made it halfway through March! For us New Englanders, we like to refer to March as the final month of winter. However, I know that for some of you, you are already enjoying bits of spring. We’ve had our two biggest snow storms over the past two weeks, and I kept repeating to myself “In like a lion, out like a lamb” as I watch giant snow flakes fall outside my window. A popular childrens book I was read in grade school about spring. While we wait for spring to officially arrive, it got me thinking how March can very much feel like a season of “in-between”. Do I still need my winter coat and beanie? Or will a light spring jacket do? And how this can also be true in life as well as we shift through different seasons. So whether you are currently navigating a season of “in-between” in life, or like me just waiting for spring to arrive with warmer weather, today I want to offer a little bit of encouragement while we patiently wait together.

Let’s Embrace the in-between ~

Each year our temperatures can vary greatly in the month of March. While the past few years we have experienced abnormally warmer temperatures, March can also bring with it the heaviest amounts of snow fall (like it did this past week :/ ). Sometimes it feels like a cruel joke as you are patiently waiting for spring to arrive, winter does not like to leave us without going out on a bang.

When I look at the landscape outside my window, our current views still very much resemble winter. Mountains of snow from winter that will begin to melt, giving way to a blah and brown landscape. The dead leaves from fall are now visible once again all over the ground, and the trees are still bare looking lifeless. There is no real evidence yet that things are living. Yet if I lean in and look closer, I see signs that spring is on the way. Branches without leaves that appear bare from a distance, yet close up, have tiny buds that are just waiting to open announcing springs’ arrival.

In life, I have definitely found myself trying to navigate being in-between seasons before as well. I’ll be honest, I’m not the best when it comes to having patience for the in-between. The uncertainty, or lack of progress leaves me feeling like I’m stuck in an awkward limbo of sorts. I am doer, and thrive when I’m feeling productive. But when you find yourself in-between seasons of life – transitions, or letting go of some things, but not quite sure yet what to pick up next – you can almost feel like you are falling behind. Because after all if we aren’t thrusting ourselves forward in the name of hustle and bustle, then we are falling backwards, right?

No sweet friend, I believe we have a different posture to take. Instead of feeling like we are falling behind, or not moving forward fast enough, what if we pause and take it all in. 

When we choose to pause long enough we are able to notice the tiny changes that are taking place around us. Remember seasons change in a slow shift, not a fast light switch being turned off and on – overnight. Nope, it’s a slow and subtle shift. Days begin to grow longer, as the sun lingers in the sky just a little bit more. Birds begin to sing again as their songs fill the air.

The more I slow down and embrace this season of “in-between”, the less overwhelm I feel to hurry, and the more beauty I am able to see before me.

When I find myself in-between seasons of life, I have time to access what I allow to fill up my day.

I receive the refreshment that the slower pace holds. One that gives me time to evaluate my life and what is currently on my plate. The in-between offers me a chance to look deeper at the things I put my hands too, and fill my days with, and gives me a chance to put down the things that are no longer meant for me to carry. Things that would only make my next season of life feel busier than it should if I were still to hold onto them. If I embrace the in-between then I am able to shift into a new season more gracefully, more attentive to the life around me, and more aware of myself and my purpose. 

So whether you are patiently waiting for spring to arrive (like me!), or waiting for the next season in your life to begin. Remember that when we have to don’t rush through the in-between. That there is beauty and purpose around us for us to take hold of.

If you are in a season of waiting personally, know that you are not alone. I personally know just how lonely being in a season of in-between can feel, and while we don’t always know why God puts things on pause for us, we can trust that he has great things in store for us just around the corner. This song has always offered me such encouragement when I have found myself in those seasons, and I pray it encouraged you as well.

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