Is there any margin in your day? You know, time where if something unexpected came up it wouldn’t throw you into a tizzy?

From my observations of our society as a whole, I’d say most of us run full-throttle, barely taking a breath before jumping into the next thing on our to-do list. It seems if we aren’t doing something, we’re considered slackers. Either by ourselves, or others.

During the years I taught elementary aged children it was extremely rare for me not to eat my lunch at my desk or computer. Working while I ate. One of my assistant principals  routinely came in, told me to stop working, take a break, and enjoy my lunch in the teachers’ lounge.

What? Take a break? Not work through lunch? Are you kidding? That would only put me further behind in an already too-full day.

I had no margin.

But Jesus did.

He deliberately took time to go off by himself to talk with his Father. He set an example of putting the press of life to the side for a moment to reconnect with what was important. He set aside time to recharge so he could face the next item on his agenda.

Jesus built margin into his life so he could accomplish the things God wanted him to accomplish.

When we leave space in our day, we no longer consider God’s unexpected divine appointments nuisances or a bother. We’ve built in time to respond to that conversation, email, or text we weren’t expecting to encounter without it overwhelming us.

So how do we create margin?

I’m still learning, but saying no, even when I want to say yes has been the biggest way I’ve found to keep myself from being overloaded.

We can expect the unexpected and add a little more time to our chores, tasks, errands. It never fails whenever I’m running late, I hit all the red lights, traffic snarls, or realize I need to fill the gas tank.

Another thing is to give myself permission not to check my inbox every time I receive a ping on my phone notifying me of a new email.

What ways have you found help build margin into your day?

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. Luke 5:15-16 (NLT)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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