A few years ago, I wrote an op-ed titled the Superwoman syndrome. The point of the article was to help women who are overwhelmed with life make space for God in their lives. In a recent blog post on margins, I wrote the following on the same subject:
Together we are on an amazing journey finding ways to make space for God. Our community of Drawing Near friends is growing! There is a keen interest in finding ways to simplify our lives and specifically as Christians to keep Christ at the center of our lives. Today we are going to look at a topic that is heavy on my heart—how to create more margin in our lives.
The definition of margin is the edge, boundary or border of something. Applying this definition to our spiritual and physical well-being, we all need to create healthy balance in our lives. The question is: how?
Before we go there let’s take a test. Are you…
- Fatigued all the time?
- Rushing from one activity to another?
- Short with people (quick fuse)?
- Unable to sleep at night because your mind won’t shut off…
All of these are symptoms that you are running on empty.
As we head into the holiday season ask yourself the following question: Am I running on empty, thinking I am superwoman?
I am challenging you to take some things off of your ‘to do’ list and schedule in more time for prayer and Scripture reading; more time for decompressing at the end of each day. Take a look at your schedule and determine to approach the next 30 days or so as holy and sacred. Seems counter intuitive to add something to your already over zealous schedule, but time spent with the Lord will help you define what you really need to do as opposed to what you think you have to do.
This week we are celebrating Thanksgiving. Each of us has much to be thankful for – so my next challenge is to write down in your journal something for which you are thankful for the next 30 days . Between clearing your schedule and having a thankful heart, this sacred season will be the best ever! My sincere hope is that this challenge will follow you into the New Year. My prayer is that we reset our clocks to focus on the Lord, making space for Him in new and fresh ways.
