Are you in...or out?

Well, which is it? Are you in or out?

And don’t go there, I’m not talking about the closet.

I’m talking about the box. Do you reside inside or outside the box? Do you follow the flow? Or do you walk against the tide?

My husband and I have always lived somewhat outside the box. Just on the edge so to speak. Not enough outside the box to be considered freakish…but definitely enough outside the box to be questioned on a regular basis. I have seen the looks when people don’t think I am paying attention and I have heard the tone of voice when asked “So…what are you trying this time?”

I admit our life outside the box has at times been somewhat reluctant, especially on the part of myself. I am a woman. I like security. I like having money in the bank and a regular source from which the money flows. I like knowing I have bread in the pantry and milk in the fridge. I prefer my children to have shoes that fit and yes, I admit, I thoroughly enjoy a venti white chocolate mocha from Starbucks once or twice a week.

Society tells me that in order to have everything above, I must go to work and work 8 hours a day to enjoy the simple creature comforts of this life.

Someone I know recently told me it is very important that I maintain a regular schedule with my son’s homeschooling. Most people who give advice mean well, they really do. But, not everyone wants to live in that box. I admit the public school system is the perfect place to train your children to work an 8-hour day. And for some people, that is great. However, it is not what we have in mind for our son.

Believe it or not, some people actually thrive outside the box. Some people I know (like me) do their best work in the middle of the night. I tend to do my best writing at 3am. At times this makes me a social piranha. People don’t know what to make of it. Because I sleep until 10 or 11 am, I am lazy. My question is, why do I have to be like everyone else? Why do I have to live in the proverbial bird cage?

Living outside the box is usually reserved for those people who are pursuing their dreams. Unfortunately, most people have been trained to put their dreams on the back burner. Even worse, some people no longer remember what their dreams are. So, when confronted with us living our dreams, it can be an affront.

Recently we committed the mother load “sin” of living outside the box.

After much prayer and years of learning to let go of stuff and trust God, I looked at my husband and said, “let’s do it. Let’s go live with my aunt for a while and write. You can write your server training book and we can publish it. Let’s go for it. You can always get another job.”

You should have seen the grin on my husband’s face. He has been waiting ten years to hear those words come out of my mouth. He actually asked me where his wife was. Today as I was watching him write for 6-8 hours, I smiled inward, thankful that we didn’t listen to those people who tried to discourage us and squash our dream.

For the next few months we are in the south drinking sweet tea, eating our big meal at 2pm and writing until our hearts’ content. Why? Because God’s call on our lives was too loud to ignore, because we love and support one another and because we never want to be “normal.” Oh…and because we can. True story!