An accident occurred yesterday.
Paramedics were called.
Surgery today.
Rehabilitation for weeks, if, not months.
As I walked away from the hospital, I knew if it were me, I would be focused on the things that needed to be done. A crisis in life often forces us to stop, helping us to see what is necessary and unnecessary. The thing is. . . it is necessary to leave margin in our day in order to stop . . . to breathe . . . and to be grateful for the gift of the day. Margin is referred to as Sabbath in the scriptures, not crisis.
Sabbath is about
rest . . .
renewal . . .
and
celebration.
It is not only God-ordained to live one day of the week
differently, but each day. That said,
rest and renewal is not about rules, but about the freedom that comes through
living with God.
Consider.
The Jewish leaders were angry when Christ did not follow their list of rules for the Sabbath:
So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules (John 5:16, NLT)
They missed the point. The Jewish leaders had designed a set of rules that limited their relationship with God. We are not created to live under the burden of "rules" but to be free through the presence and peace of Christ:
So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law (Galatians 5:1, NLT).
Sabbath, or margin, brings restorative healing. It is the picture of the man that was paralyzed for 38 years . . . until he met Jesus on the Sabbath . . . who told him to stand, pick up his mat, and walk:
Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking! (John 5:9, NLT)
So. I am once again
in the process of learning to create margin in each day as well as one full day
a week. Creating space in the day and week changes the way we live, freeing us
from the pressures of life.
When the space is given to Christ . . . we are enabled to live well . . . to stand, to pick up our mat (the stuff we must manage in life) and to walk . . . as if it were the first time.
Create space in your day, and week, to be free of the pressures, to-do-lists, and the stuff of life. Take time to be aware of the gift God has given you . . . the day . . . the week . . . life. Rest. Be renewed. Celebrate.
Learning to Kickstart the day, and week, with margin,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED)