Got Margin?

A few years ago I heard a teaching on margin. Let’s picture a sheet of loose leaf paper. You know the column that you aren’t supposed to write in? Yes, the margin; it is what allows for rest and makes room for the unexpected happenings in our life whether it be financially, physically or spiritually. So many times, we tend to fill up the whole page leaving no room on the top, bottom or margin. We spend outside of our means, schedule things we have run out of time for and leave no place for God, family or rest. We may leave just enough space on the tattered corner of the page for ourselves, but is that all that our spiritual growth and maturity is worth? I can’t tell you how many times I have looked at that paper and thought just how much of a waste of space the margin seems to be. I never thought my high school English lesson could prove such a valid point in life.

Unfortunately, I tend to view rest like I do margin, and it is just recently that I have begun to realize its importance. God created everything in 6 days, and on the 7th day, He rested. Apparently, God understood the necessity. If God the Father needed rest, how much more do we?!? God has really been dealing with me alot on this issue. I tend to go and go, and then when something unexpected happens, I can’t understand why I come unglued! It’s because I have filled up my margin with busyness and things of the sort that I have no room to pencil in any additional notes. Margin allows room for blessings and growth and makes dealing with any curve balls a heck of alot easier!

Did you know that rest is an integral part of RESToration? When you restore something, you are bringing it back to a place of existence in a state that can be used again. Rest is a place of peace and freedom from anything that wearies, troubles or disturbs. Rest rejuvenates. Rest RESTores. It is intentional and purposeful. Let’s look at it from a different perspective.

I LOVE my ice cream truck. And while this may seem like an oxymoron for something that is consistently on the go, it was through “ice-creaming” that I realized just how fast everything else in life was. When you are driving an ice cream truck, you can’t go faster than 5mph. That’s hard for someone with a lead foot both in life and on the accelerator! Jeremy just laughs at me because it makes me so relaxed. So much for speeding through the neighborhood or just trying to get from point A to point B… If I did that, I would miss the opportunities that await. This business is about the journey and the stops in between. I LOVE that it makes me slow down and stop! It also makes the potential for profit so much greater! Just think, nothing can keep going and going. Eventually, the truck will run out of gas. Are you catching the metaphor here?

The same applies to our lives. Either you can stop or God will stop you, but eventually you WILL rest…after all, that is one of the commandments. We obey the others, so why not that one? Remember the Sabbath. REST. It is a vital part of us reaching our full potential. It is the gas in our tank.

Last night, we had our women’s ministry kickoff called BELOVED. Pastor Debbie shared from Deut. 33:12. Can you guess what the first line of that Scripture was? “Let the beloved of the Lord REST…”

OK, Lord! I hear you loud and clear. Can I get a shredder and a new piece of paper now? What does your margin look like?