Stuck in the Middle

Day 4 of 40

I find that a creative thought cannot enter my head tonight.  It’s as if every song I’ve ever heard, every cliché I’ve ever read, and every dream I’ve ever dreamed are all jumbled in my head, making a mess of my imagination.  I’m stuck…still.  

Some song from my past – a song that I can’t really recall is stirring in my ear.  I know neither who sings the song or any of the words- except these- “Stuck in the middle again…” Since I can’t recall all of the song I’m not sure what it’s about or that it even defines my situation, but at least these lyrics do.  Stuck in the middle again…

The middle.  Stuck.  Stuck in the middle.  The middle: halfway between beginning and end. Middle school…middle Earth (Lord of the Rings), middle of life. 

It’s that halfway point that makes me feel stuck.  I can’t start, and I can’t end.  I’m just wandering.  Think about it…when we’re lost, we say things like, “I’m in the middle of no-where.”

I have a favorite show on TV.  Its name is “The Middle.” In this show a family of five is decisively middle-class America.  Both parents work, the kids have simple (although real) problems.  The family eats fast food, argues with one another, and somehow every week- in just under 30 minutes figures out how to solve their problems and still love each other.  They are not the Cleavers but they are also not the Bundy family.   I like them. They are in the middle, and maybe they’re stuck, but they don’t seem to care.    

As I watch this family- although fictional- I realize the comfort they have hanging out in the middle.  They are content to be where they are.  Some may see this as lazy.  Some may see it as almost sad.  I’m realizing that it’s not just the hilarious dialogue that draws me to this family.  It’s that their “middle-ness” gives me hope.  They complain (a little) but they keep on moving.  Maybe they’re trying to get out of the middle- just like I am, but the difference is that they are not clawing their way out.  They are just moving along at a pace that seems doable.

Yes, I’m stuck in the middle, but maybe that’s okay…at least for now.  Maybe the middle can be something positive…like on a boat in the middle of the ocean or the creamy middle of an Oreo cookie.  Both seem pretty okay to me.  Maybe God has something good for me here in the middle.   

Besides, I’ve had a “middle” before.  I’ve never been to middle Earth, but I did go to middle school. I survived that so I’m sure I can survive this.