Mind the Gap

When our family traveled to London on holiday, I got a kick out of the Mind Gap warning on the tube.  I even came home with a cup with the phrase on it.  Simple things for simple minds right?     A simple warning to protect you, to heed that little space that can trip you up.

Today, that phrase struck me again, as I saw it on Facebook. It suddenly took on a completely different track in my mind.  It occurred to me how much it applies to our spiritual life.  Mind the Gap!, those little spaces between where we are and where we are going. The “little things” that can trip us up.

How often I hear or use the phrase, “it’s not that bad.”  When is bad not bad? Does that make it good then? Are there degrees from good to bad, a measurement? Maybe. Bars are set differently for different people. What is acceptable for one person might be totally unacceptable for another for so many reasons.  I try to understand that, but where is the line? Where is the gap that will trip me up and cause me to fall into sin?

And not just bad. Where is the gap with doing good?  Is there a limit?  At some point am I not doing “enough”?  Will inaction trip me up?  I don’t know if there is a right answer for everyone here either. Probably the gap is different for us all, based on our abilities and our maturity.

I am not saying there are no absolutes, because there definitely are. Some things are not negotiable.  Others though, depend on who we are, what our background is, what we are called to do or not do.

The big non-negotiable things are easy to recognize. It is the gaps that can get you.  So I guess the trick is to “Mind the Gap”. We have to know where it falls for us and be alert for it in our life.

1 Corinthian 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.

Insecurity is my nemesis. Worry is its weapon.

I fear change. A child back at college, another back at public school, it is all too much.  And yet..I feel this need in me for change, like something just needs to break loose, to be...different.

I wish I knew what it was.  I feel stagnant, still, dormant.  What is it?  What do I need to do? What will make this feeling go away?

Have I been at someone else's beck and call so long (even though I enjoyed it and felt needed)  that I have lost me? Did I ever have me? Do I remember me?  Do I want to be me anymore or do I want to be someone else?

Still me...yes. A better me? Definitely, but how?  It will come, I hope.  I guess this is an empty nest thing, a moving and changing over and over thing.  Time will tell.  Here's hoping that whatever it is, it will be a change for the better, something Dave and I and the girls can all appreciate.

Pray for the change in me.