Mind the Gap

by Donna Schaper | published on Jun 14, 2026

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. – Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV)  

The “gap theory” is a theological concept that suggests a long gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, proposing that the earth was created in a perfect state and later became “formless and void” due to sin. 

Overlooked gaps can trip us up. 

If you frequent public transportation, you’re heard: “Mind the gap.” When boarding, there is a real gap, usually small but significant enough to cause a spill, which is a trip that disrupts your trip. Physically limited people and those of us who are balance-challenged know to step over thresholds: consciously, attentively, weighing risk and benefit, taking our time. 

My life is rich in gaps. There was the one between my parent’s income and the electricity bill. There was the one between my ability as a basketball player and much of the opposition. There was the gap between high school in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and my college admission. Due to a failed vote for the school budget, we lost our accreditation that year. A gap trip. 

People who know their gaps take the ramp, go in the back door, come in sly, trick the opposition, or teach kids not to pick up the phone when the electric company calls. We all spend a long time between origin and destination – but some mind the gap enough to get home sooner.   

Ramps are better than stairs. They make the trip easier on your knees, the ones you use to pray when you are trying to find a way where there is no way. Praise God for the ramps that help us avoid the void. 

Prayer
You who make a way when there is no way, let us spend more time in Genesis 1:1 than in Genesis 1:2. Re-create us and return us, recreationally and often, to home base in the first verse.

Donna SchaperAbout the Author
Donna Schaper is an interim Pastor at the United Church of Gainesville, Florida, and author, most recently of Remove the Pews—first from your theology, then from your building.