In the meantime...

All farmers worth their salt live in the meantime. The hay is ready to cut but the afternoon storms keep on coming. In the meantime you repair fences or plant winter rye. Fanny is nearly ready to calve so you lock the herd down in the meantime to keep the coyotes from harming the new calf. Most things on a farm do not happen as you might plan or expect so living in the meantime becomes an art, a necessity.
I have been living in the meantime this summer. Truth be told, most of my life has been lived in the meantime. My best laid plans always seem to skid sideways at some point as life takes an unexpected detour. Being the at home professional requires the skill of meantime living. Dixie’s stall was flooded in the last fierce storm and a lake of dirty water pooled all over the floor. So yesterday I was shoveling waterlogged wood chips, manure, sawdust and dirt out of the stall for an hour or so. It took two loads in the Daddy O to strip her stall down to mud. Then I layered lime to sweeten the ammonia before putting the corn cob pellets down to absorb the moisture. While shoveling and spreading, I prayed for those I love who are living in a meantime place filled with uncertainty and fear. Waiting on a diagnosis, living with dementia, struggling in counseling, living with the aftermath of illness…
Meantimes can be filled with anticipation and hope… a new baby is coming, a wedding is planned, a best friend is coming to visit, a special anniversary is celebrated. Paying attention to these special in between times sweetens the pleasure and deepens the joy. We share a wedding anniversary with good friends. For years when we lived in the same city, we celebrated our anniversaries together. This year we will resume the tradition and are spending a night at a mountaintop inn. Our joy is tempered by the recognition of shared griefs and losses. But we are the stronger for it, and our celebration will be rich with laughter and life.
Jesus knew how to live in the meantime whether in a boat escaping needy crowds , praying alone and deserted on a dark mountain, leading a parade or having supper with a sinner. Nothing in his life was beneath his notice and when the unexpected came to call, his responded. Lazerus died? The young daughter is at death’s door? The sick woman grabs the hem of his robe? Five thousand people to feed? Twelve disciples to prepare and teach? He could shift gears and be in the moment whether it called for joy, sorrow, anger or action. Life in the meantime…
An English alternative rock band with the unlikely name of Spacehog wrote some beautiful lyrics to a song named “In the Meantime”. Thanks to the wonders of Googeling, I found these words and I pass them on to you, my morning prayer.

And in the end we shall achieve in time The thing they call divine, When all the stars will smile for me, When all is well and well is for all, And forever after.
Maybe in the meantime wait and see We love the all of you Our lands are green and our skies are blue When all in all we’re just like you We love the all of you.
And when I cry for me I cry for you with tears of holy joy for all the days you’ve still to come…

In the meantime, I laugh and love and weep and pray for us all as we wait for the stars to smile and all to be well. Amen.