“Stay on the Phone.”

Photo courtesy of Jessica Peterson

I’ve spent a lot of my life in the in-between.

I should have a Master’s degree in waiting. My sister disappeared in 1982. We are still  waiting for some answers.

And though I’ve read books on the subject of waiting, none have taught me the value of it. Until now.

In his book, In-Between, Jeff Goins shows us how to wait. Not with 5 steps, or 21 days of how to, or even a checklist to follow.

No. He does it with stories. Stories he’s lived.

I love stories. So, little by little I followed him into his illustrations. I sat quietly and didn’t mind at all. I was on a quest. I wanted to learn how to wait well.

And funny thing. I learned more than I bargained for. I learned something I didn’t even know I needed. How to be thankful for the in-between.

But how he got me there is truly brilliant.

Jeff got me to see value in something I previously saw as insignificant, mundane or even painful at times.

I’ve tasted staying in the “now” moments. Moments we’re to savor where we are, and what we’re doing, or NOT doing.

Like the time I was on the phone with Shirley, an elderly woman. Shirley called looking for a Pete Peterson. While I apologized for not knowing him, I heard a nudge. A voice which simply said,

“Stay on the phone.”

I’ve learned to listen to those nudges. Because the one who gives them knows a lot. He knows everything.

Shirley was calling every Peterson in the phone book, one by one. Then she got me. And I listened.

Shirley wanted to invite Pete to her husband’s 85th birthday party. It was to be a surprise. Through the years they had lost contact with their friend.

My heartstrings were tugged as Shirley shared this might be her husband’s last birthday. Cancer had intruded their lives. The same cancer which had stolen my dad, cousin, and brother.

I prayed on the phone for Shirley. She started crying.

Our 10-15 minute phone call became a mission I chose to accept. Mission impossible.
Yet, impossibilities are God’s specialty. The party was in one week.

Days later, I shared the story while talking with a friend. She responded, “Oh, I know a Pete Peterson.”

Though our spellings differed, I still asked for his number.

Dialing I hoped he was the one. And talking to Pete, he thanked me over and over. God reunited three friends.

It all happened because I stayed in the moment.

Jeff Goins tells how he came to appreciate those waiting times, those “in-betweens.”

And now you have a choice.

You can keep white-knuckling those times of waiting. Keep enduring them when they come. Notice I said “when.” Or like me, you can learn another way.

As for me. I’m going to reread his book. Something I rarely do.

Now it’s your turn.

This book can change your thinking. You can learn to see the value in the here and now.

Order In-Between. You’ll be so glad you did.

I know I am.