Yesterday morning, I was juggling multiple things and at times thinking, ‘I’m not sure this will work.’ I had an extremely tight work schedule, was watching kids, doing chores, had several construction workers at my house, and had my in-laws on the way over. Then I got a message about a meeting that had been rescheduled from a different day and thought, oops, but I might be able to make that work. I actually had to take a break in the middle of the meeting to pick up a child, then got back to finish the meeting, so by mid afternoon, I had completed most of my obligations. Not everything was on schedule, as not all was within my control, but in the end, we all survived, and I was thankful. I try not to over-commit, get too busy, or make others wait on me, but sometimes those things happen. What is your response when things get to be too much and you start to feel overwhelmed?
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Do you have regularly scheduled break times in your day? By law, in our country, we are mandated to have a certain number of break times and lunch times in a structured work day, and when I spent one summer in a factory, they were appreciated. What about on the weekends or your days off, do you still build in some down times, or leave enough margin to be able to stop and talk for a minute or help someone when needed? I schedule most of my work days and travel a lot for work, so I usually need to be aware of the time to keep on track with where I need to be. It is frustrating when I am running behind, need to be on the road and feel I have to make up for lost time. These are times without much margin when I am rushed, have to cut conversations short, or am more aggressive on the road than I would like in order to get somewhere faster. Some of the factors that cause this are out of my control, but others are within it, and may be due to poor planning on my part. I like to be efficient, but sometimes it just doesn’t work well to squeeze in an appointment without any wiggle room.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
Most books, and bibles are written with margins for a number of reasons. It is just difficult to read when there is no space at the edges. It also allows us room to write notes, or add to what is already written down. When we give ourselves extra time to do our jobs well, we enjoy our work better, and others enjoy us better also. We can take a few more minutes to have an unplanned conversation that is helpful to us or others, we can offer help to someone that needs a hand, or we can just take a moment to thank God for the little things in our day. To pray without ceasing is to always be tuned in to God and his leading in our lives, whether we are working, parenting, or just observing others and seeing opportunities to be an instrument of God in any and every situation. We may even be led to pray for others that we encounter, or who just come to our minds in any moment. When we are not rushed and distracted with non stop commitments all day long, we allow ourselves more opportunities to be thankful, prayerful, and helpful as we go along through each day. May you find enough margin to do the same today!
Yours in Christ,
Clark
