Mind the Gap: Between the Margins

Anyone whose every typed anything, especially for a college class or while constructing a resume, has had to worry about how to manipulate the margins.  Whether it is because there is just one line too many left over, or one word that is falling down to the next, hanging by its lonesome, playing around the edges is a daring feat that can often prove to be successful.  While, to the natural eye, these do not seem to make that much of a difference, unless you are a well-trained professor with the uncanny ability to catch these nuances, for the person make the adjustments it means a lot.  It can take hours to get the margins just right so that they fit the requirements of the task.

As we survey what lies in our gaps, in the very pores of our being, we will note that things that may be taken for granted actually did play a large part in time. In the commentary Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Peter Jackson mentions how the 2 minute scene of Gollum running would take days to get right.  It is fascinating to hear someone speak French, however it took years to develop that talent, possibly even spending time in a francophone country.  Audiences who attend an inspirational and truly moving play often never see the hours of work actors, directors and all the other theatrical personnel place into making the experience. These times are BTM (Between the Margin) experiences.

At the wedding in Cana, Mary commanded Jesus to provide wine for the attendees when the family had run out. Mary never asked if he could do it, probably was not around to see how long it took him to make it happen or to perfect the skill – it was something that Jesus worked out was between the margins.   Miracles, skills, gifts and inspirations come from between the margins.  This work, this refinement, this tampering and tinkering until we get it just right is apart of the BTM stage.

This week, reconsider those trying, diligent or times of extreme focus, these BTM (between the margin) experiences.  Think about the lesson, the skill and how adjusting to the new circumstances made us who we are today.