The week between Christmas and New Years is an awkward time. Christmas is over, but lights and trees are still up. The year is ending, but the new one hasn’t begun. We feel sluggish from the holiday sweets, but not ready to start new year resolutions. It’s an in between time that doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere.

The end of December might not be the only time we feel this way. Perhaps we’re waiting on news or sludging through the drudgery of the every day. Excitment is ahead and behind, but it is not here now. It is a wilderness of nomads.

How do we live well during times like these? Because, frankly, they seem to happen a lot more than we like to think.

I consider the seasons. Winter is a period of domancy, yet plenty is happening under the surface. Plants are storing energy for the growth spurt of Spring. Animals conserve their warmth while allowing their bodies to hibernate. It is a time of inward relfection, of recentering, of preparing for what is ahead.

During this in betweeen week, as we consider the new year before us, perhaps we can use it for just that purpose. We can take stock of the good and bad that has happened this past year and prepare for the new year that is coming. In this way, perhaps we won’t waste the gift of these in between days.

How do you use this time well?