Greetings,
A dear friend once described me as “tenacious,” I think there was both compliment and critique in their words. I don’t let go quickly, especially when I have left something undone. Case in point: I didn’t send the cards I wanted to send at Christmas. I had them printed and even addressed a few envelopes. But the task never came together, and just this week, I put the cards (dated 2023) in the recycling bin.
Those cards took up a lot of headspace from December through February. (“I want to do them. I need to do them. Why didn’t I do them? Can I still do them?) Thinking about them did not create the margin of time required to get them addressed and into the mailbox.
Creating margins of time means allowing for something beyond that which is needed. A margin is the gap between rest and exhaustion. That may mean letting go of something that feels important but perhaps can be set aside. It may mean looking at your calendar and entering days and times for restoration. It also means embracing the knowledge that letting go of something creates space for God to let something new and life-giving begin.
I am grateful for my time at a church conference in St. Louis this week. It took planning to create the margins of time to do so. Without those margins, I would have missed the opportunity to listen and learn from creative, passionate, and inspirational leaders. Leaders like Rev. Traci Blackmon observed that following Jesus means practicing love because God is love. And she followed with this, “And love is hard work.”
We need margins to do the work of discipleship because it doesn’t always come easily. With Easter fast approaching, I’m considering my margins. I hope all of us are creating some space to fully embrace this Lenten season of preparation and the coming celebration of Resurrection Sunday.
Easter is a reminder of the new and abundant life that Christ makes possible. What shall we let go so we are ready to embrace what is being made new?
Peace,
Pastor Linda
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