The Moment Before The Moment

You know that moment right before Christmas Eve turns into Christmas morning? Or the night before you leave for vacation? Or the split second before you open a birthday gift you’ve been patiently waiting to open for weeks and though you can’t wait to see if it’s that thing you’ve been wanting for so long…a small part of you wants to hit the “pause” button and stay suspended in that moment between what could be and what is?

I think those moments before the moments are some of life’s sweetest. Right when you’re on the edge of something really amazing, and the possibilities seem endless, and never have you felt more hopeful, or expectant, or ALIVE.

I remember when I was little, in the days and even weeks leading into Christmas, I would get up in the middle of the night, every single night, and tiptoe into the living room to peer under the tree and see if maybe, just maybe, this year Santa had come early. Of course he never did, but those quiet moments stealing out of my bedroom, down the hallway, and into the living room were some of the most thrilling and joyous of my life. And then…THEN…finally, Christmas Eve would arrive…and I would repeat the same pattern, rising in the middle of the still, silent night, padding down the hallway in my footie pajamas, praying in my little childish heart that he had paid us a visit…only to be greeted by dozens of beautifully wrapped presents under the tree this time instead of just vacant space. I can think back to it now and still feel the hope and awe and wonder that would rise up in me at the sight of all of the glittering, shiny packages awaiting the moment when the eager hands of two little girls would tear into them. In the stillness of those pre-dawn hours, on the horizon of Christmas morning, those precious moments spent gazing at the long-awaited and much anticipated treasures were almost more wondrous than opening the gifts themselves.

As an adult, those kinds of moments and memories seem to become harder and harder to come by. But the one that for me is the most magical of all is the moment right before you like someone. It’s one of those gifts of single life that I think God pays us back in dividends with because He sees the other moments that we‘re not getting to experience, at least not yet – like anniversaries and first steps and  inside jokes and family vacations. When you’re right on the verge of being completely swept up in the excitement of a new crush might be one of the best moments life has to offer. When the only thing more thrilling than the newness of it all is the uncertainty. It’s actually one of the few times in life when uncertainty feels like a gift. Every text, every time the phone rings, every new email and Facebook message becomes rife with possibility. Could it be him? When would you see him again? WOULD you see him again? The butterflies and the daydreams and the expectation that you might be taking the first steps toward something real just give the world around you a totally different feeling. That feeling is, as Pooh says in the quote above, completely unable to be identified or named or defined. It simply IS.

And it’s wonderful.

What do you think? Have any favorite “moments before the moment”? Sound off in the comments below!