Preserving the margin

This just came into my inbox.

Richard A. Swenson, M.D., describes Margin:

"Margin is the space between our load and our limits. It is the amount allowed beyond that which is needed. It is something held in reserve for contingencies and unanticipated situations. Margin is the gap between rest and exhaustion, the space between breathing and suffocating."

This comment followed:

A lack of margin has direct impact. If we're not careful, it can cause us to push aside spiritual growth, the relationships we care about, any semblance of contentment and eventually our health.


This is a lesson I've had to learn the hard way (note: I haven't finished learning this lesson!!). I can't do it all. I can't be superhuman. I've tried and I still keep trying from time to time. I can't do it. I need to find space and place to recharge, to create (knitting socks is one of my passions, journalling, walking, listening to music, quiet and solitude).

It all makes sense, but I have to push resentment away. Now I am the breadwinner, mother, housekeeper, cook, errands runner, gardener etc etc etc. There is sooooooo much. It takes nothing to get me overwhelmed.

I know that bitterness and self-pity are corrosive, destructive influences on my heart. I want to fight them with all my being. At times, it seems easier to just give in and let the thoughts go rolling down hill. But they kill the margin too.

I am re-reading Ann Voskamp's book 1,000 Gifts and I just watched her interview on Youtube with 100 Huntley Street (the Canadian version of 700 Club).

We don't have to have it all together, and life is HARD. But God is still good. And there are things to be grateful for, if we look for them. That is Ann's message. She calls it eucharisteo (a Greek word meaning thanksgiving). It was the word Jesus used as he broke the bread in the Upper Room before his death. The focus is not the joy of suffering, but the thankfulness for what we see, what we can receive as a gift.

What do I see that I can be grateful for? What is a gift? My daughter, the sunshine, work colleagues and friends who truly care, my mother, my health.

I am grateful for the times when I have a margin.

How do we preserve that precious piece of quiet, that time to recharge, that ability to take care of me, which is essential in order to have anything left for anyone else? I have to be honest. I DON'T KNOW :-)

Taking time to make time. I need to take time to journal and feed on the Lord, because that is where my strength lies. I need to take time to go for a walk because if I don't, I'm burnt out and over-tired later in the day. I need to bring my knitting along for times when I feel impatient. It helps me focus my energy in a more positive way (otherwise, my foot quickly enters my mouth and doesn't come out until I've had some sleep).

Today, my Bible reading included Psalm 17. Now, before you get all impressed that I'm reading the Bible, I can tell you that I am using an app called "Youversion" which has all kinds of plans based around themes and daily Bible readings. I'm reading the Bible in a Year, which I haven't done in quite a few years. As great as the discipline is, it does tend to make me feel like I've "covered" my spiritual content for the day and I haven't been listening to the Lord quite as much. However, getting Scripture into me is never a bad thing!

So, Psalm 17 has a lot of good things to say here. Thank you David! This is from the Amplified Bible.

1 HEAR THE right (my righteous cause), O Lord; listen to my shrill, piercing cry! Give ear to my prayer, that comes from unfeigned and guileless lips.
6 I have called upon You, O God, for You will hear me; incline Your ear to me and hear my speech. 7Show Your marvelous loving-kindness, O You Who save by Your right hand those who trust and take refuge in You from those who rise up against them. 8 Keep and guard me as the pupil of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings 9From the wicked who despoil and oppress me, my deadly adversaries who surround me.
15 As for me, I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness (rightness, justice, and right standing with You); I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake [to find myself] beholding Your form [and having sweet communion with You].

Don't you just love the idea of being guarded by God as the pupil of His eye? There is NO WAY we can be separated from Him. How do you forget about part of your eye?

Lord please help me to preserve the margin - that place where I am restored by Your Presence, filled with hope and nourished. I can't do this alone. I can't even fathom why I try. Grace, grace, grace!