The Answer is NO!!! Finding Margin in the Craziness of Life

Have you ever been in that spot? 

What spot?

The one where you are pretty sure the world as you know it is going to explode if you add one more teeny, tiny thing to your to-do list for the month.

That spot.

Have you been there?

I have. 

More times than I care to recount. 

More times than a Mama should ever get that close to the edge of chaos.

How do we get out of that spot? 

How do we regain some margin in the craziness of life?

Hopefully you know what margin is. If not, let me give you a brief visual example. On a page, margin is the white space left all around the text. It's that nice wide border where you might write a note, or doodle, or just enjoy the pristine page. Margin in life is the room to breathe, the room to change things up without upsetting the apple cart. Margin is letting God control your schedule instead of your schedule controlling you. 

In your life, margin is the unscheduled time.

As Americans, we seem to have forgotten what margin is. We've been working so hard to create the perfect planner that keeps track of all of our life in 5 minute increments so we can pack the most living into every  . . . single . . . day. I get that. Live life to the full.

Except what we're living isn't the life Jesus was talking about in John 10:10. Jesus was talking about a life full of Him. We've turned it into a life full of us.

What does that have to do with us today?

BOOM! The answer is NO!!!

The answer to the next thing that comes along should probably be NO!!! Not just "no." We should not be afraid to put aside something good to seek out what is best.

Seek out what is best.

Jesus.

Seek out Jesus to find margin for your life. 

This doesn't mean breaking all your commitments, it means seeking HIS will for your life and your family. Jesus told us to let our yes be yes, and our no, no. If you have given your word to attend, present, or organize something... then keep your word. Ask Jesus for the grace and the strength to complete what you have started. Then ask Him for the courage to say NO. No thank you. No, I'm sorry that won't fit in our schedule. That sounds like fun, but we're going to have to pass this time. Interesting, but I don't think that will fit in our schedule. 

Perhaps it is time to learn some new phrases. Ones like: Let me talk with my husband, pray about it, and get back to you. I am so glad you found something that your family is enjoying, but it isn't the right time for us to take on something new. How exciting for you, we'll have to schedule a time so you can tell me how it goes. Thank you for thinking of us, but our time is already committed.

I've been through so many seasons in my life. 

I know there are more to come. 

Whenever I've lost my margin, whenever I've lost my focus on Christ, my family suffers for it. I suffer right alongside them. I want to live the full life that Christ taught about. I want to spend time with Yeshua. I want to have margin in my life for God to doodle in times of refreshing, times of encouraging others, and times to enjoy the moment. If I fill in all of my margin with my own notes, I crowd out the opportunities God has planned for me. When I remember the polite way to say no to the good things, He points us to the best things.

BOOM! Sometimes life has to hit you like a freight train to remind you of what you're missing by being busy. Would it not be better to have God teach us the more pleasant way of following Him? Of learning how a gentle no opens the way for many more yeses in Him?

Praying you find margin in the craziness of your daily life. 

Praying that you learn to live life to the full in Christ!