Margin

I don't know about the rest of the world this morning (literally, as I have not had time to watch the news) but I am feeling quite tired and overwhelmed. My days and weeks for the past several months (or is it years?) have been flying by at break-neck speed, and I'm feeling a bit out of control and out of order. This is NOT a good thing. I've got to get a grip and get my life back in balance.

We all know better. I know better, and you know better. Why is it then that it is all too easy to allow the tyranny of the urgent to overtake our common sense? Our bodies, minds, and spirits scream for rest and restoration, but we keep pushing to the outer limits. Achievement becomes something of a god. It also can become an addiction. Our culture rewards it and so we become hooked on always striving for more. Busyness is the black plague of our society today. It steals our energy and sense of well-being and can literally kill us like a terminal disease when we never stop to regain our center.

Richard A. Swenson has written a really good book about this subject from a Christian point of view. It is called Margin. Just as a letter or other document is easier to read when it is uncluttered in appearance and has lots of white space around the print, our lives need appropriate margin to be healthy. Here is an overview from Google Books:

Overload is not having time to finish the book you are reading on stress. Margin is having time to read it twice. Overload is fatigue. Margin is energy. Overload is red ink. Margin is black ink. Overload is hurry. Margin is calm. Overload is anxiety. Margin is security. Overload is the disease of our time. Margin is the cure. Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits. It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. In Margin, Dr. Richard Swenson provides a prescription against the danger of overloaded lives. Focusing on margin in four key areas-emotional energy, physical energy, time, and finances-he offers an overall picture of health that employs contentment, simplicity, balance, and rest. If you yearn for relief from the pain and pressure of overload, take a lifelong dose of Margin . The benefits of good health, financial stability, fulfilling relationships, and availability for Gods purposes will follow you all your days. I don't know how you are faring, but I need to find some green pastures today and allow my soul to be restored. I need to look at my calendar and block off some white space. I need to take one day at a time and ask the Lord to order this one day for me. When I've asked Him in the past I've always been amazed at how faithfully He has done that for me and how much better I felt at the end of the day than I did at the beginning. May God order your day today as well. "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 A peaceful scene I saw this morning just 10 minutes from my house... What a confirmation to the majesty of God and His creation!