It’s interesting that the New Oxford American Dictionary defines margin as, “an amount of something included so as to be sure of success or safety”. When we think of margin we usually think of the blank sides of a page or of proper formating of college term papers. We don’t often think of margin as something extra that we include to ensure success or safety. And we rarely think of the term being applied to our lives.

In my experience, living life with time & space built in to be sure of success or safety isn’t easy.  I often have my day scheduled from the time I wake up to the time I return to my bed.  It starts with getting my kids ready for school, then taking them to school, then getting ready myself, the to a workday often overly optimistic of what I can actually accomplish, then to pick up kids from school, then home to think about dinner, household chores, and soon after getting the kids ready for bedtime. Only after my beautiful and wonderfully active children are sound asleep do I discover a few moments of silence and empty space.  But then I have a marriage to nurture and my wife and I often fill this potential margin talking about our day, discussing the needs of the coming day, or numbing our brains with a television show or movie.  And while these moments of my day are some of the most treasured, they nevertheless occupy some of the very limited hours that I am awake.

It seems to me that what’s true of this time with my wife is true of much of what gets on my schedule; the things that occupy my time are usually really good things. I just have far too many good things on my schedule. It’s easy for me to say “no” to something that clearly wastes time or is meaningless, but it’s incredibly hard for me to say “no” to something that benefits a friend, cares for a neighbor, helps create something that otherwise wouldn’t be, etc.  This is my dilemma;  there are far too many “good things” to involve myself in.

But filling my day with too many good things is an enemy of margin in my day.  I need time to just be.  Time that has no demands or expectations placed on it.  Space in my day where I can act spontaneously or give time to the unplanned visit of a neighbor.  Time in which I can remember both who I am and who I’ve committed to be.  Time to interact with my Creator. Time to meditate and reflect on the ways of the One in which I’ve given my life to.

My understanding of Christian faith demands that I give my life to others. The legacy I wish to leave when my days are done is one of availability, of compassion, of care & concern, and, ultimately, one of love.  The practice of these characteristics demand time and are often the “good things” that steal margin from me.  But I must realize that when it comes to giving myself away to others, to ensure I have something to give I must care for and nurture my own health.  In other words, I can give of myself at the expense of margin for a while, but it will catch up to me at some point if I don’t have time and space to reflect, to remember, to be, to pray, to think, and to love.  If I want to give of myself for a lifetime, then I must say learn to say “no” to some “good things” in order to protect the very thing I need to remain healthy, present, and available; margin.

A theme that has been rattling between my head and my heart lately (and one that we are exploring with communitasPHX) is the phrase,”in living, we have ceased to be alive”.   For me, I am most guilty of allowing “living” to steal my “life” when I allow too many good things to pencil out margin in my life.  I must learn to say “no” and shed the messiah complex that haunts this part of me.  God doesn’t need me to meet every need around me.  He wants to meet needs WHILE remaining healthy and available to meet future needs.

I need margin. I need to laugh, to notice, to feel, to appreciate, to love, to smile, to ponder, to dream, to commune, and to…..just be.  And I am convinced that you need these things too.  So for those of us living in the busyness of the city, being pulled in a thousand directions at once, let’s commit to live lives that contain more margin than the world around us is comfortable with.  They may call us lazy, immature, or selfish.  But we know otherwise.  Having regular space in which we can be ourselves and drink in the world around us is the perhaps the most important thing we can put on our schedule.