Monday morning I was heading in for a 7:00 a.m. breakfast meeting and for whatever reason I actually left the house early. The breakfast place I was headed to is exactly 15 minutes from my house so I knew I had to leave at 6:45 to make it on time, however, I remember sitting down in my truck, looking up at the clock and seeing that it was only 6:39 a.m.
Just a few minutes from my destination I noticed a middle aged man in a maroon Honda Accord who was trying to pull out of the gas station into my lane of heavy morning traffic. I had plenty of time left to get to my appointment, so without hesitation I put my brakes on and let him out.
As he pulled out and waved the thought crossed my mind…
Margin is essential for the unexpected!
I tend to plan my schedule and my budgets based on perfect scenarios. The problem with that is obvious. Rarely are there perfect scenarios. In other words I have no margins.
A margin is something allowed, or reserved, for that which can not be foreseen or known with certainty.
If I had left right “on time” I probably would have been so focused on where I was going that I would have totally missed the opportunity to let him out. Even if I did see him I’m not sure I would have taken the time to stop. Now it doesn’t sound like a really big deal, right? I mean, it’s just let a car pull out in front of me. However, this principle plays itself out in almost every area of my life and has huge implications.
I’m afraid margin is something that is missing way too often in my life these days.
My lack of margin impacts…
How generous I am with my money.
How generous I am with my time.
How I lead.
How I love.
How is your margin or lack of margin impacting you these days? What one area of your life do you need more margin the most?
True.
Well said.
.-= Vince´s last blog ..This is how you present the gospel =-.
Way to hit me where I’m weak! Oh what a great reminder!! Thanks, PW!
.-= Emily Sutherland´s last blog ..Little Miracles. =-.
So so true. I need to apply this in my life more.
That happened to me the other day. I was actually ahead of schedule for once and I saw an older gentleman on the side of the road in front of a church looking kind of desperate. I actually drove past, but something made me turn around. So in the rain I gave this guy a jump. Not sure if it had any impact on his life, but it made me feel pretty good.
Buffers definitely need to be available. Thanks Pete!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Biblical Temper Tantrums =-.
I may be the world’s worst margin person. Thank you for the great illustration. So much less stress when margin is allowed. Must begin building it in and see it’s value vs seeing it as waste!!!
.-= Tom Raines´s last blog ..Today’s Affirmation: My goal is to please God. =-.
Maybe letting someone out in traffic seems like a small thing but I know how much my day and attitude can change when one little kindness like that is shown to me…I don’t think we always know how ‘big’ those ‘small’ acts are.
I know for me, leaving no margin makes me more self-centered. Everything becomes about me getting where I need to be or doing what I need to do because there isn’t room or time to think of others.
Thanks for the reminder today!
.-= joyce´s last blog ..You want random on Wednesdays? I got Random on Wednesdays… =-.
So true. Bottom line is God can better use those of us who create margin.
Everything you’ve been posting about lately has been speaking to me. Thanks for sharing what’s on your mind and heart.
.-= Shelley´s last blog ..Pete’s Awesome Article =-.
And I’m learning, there’s only one way to get margin in life: say no.
.-= mandythompson´s last blog ..Permission Granted: =-.
bingo!!
I am a zero-margin person. My husband is a margin-loving freak of nature, er, well balanced individual.
Guess what is our biggest conflict (especially after adding 2 kids, 2 jobs, and plenty of church volunteering into the mix?) Oh yeah.
I’ve been struggling and praying over this recently. It’s easy to assume that the more activity I can fit in, the more I please God. Now before you jump all over that, it’s not all wrong. God wants us to work hard and get the most use of the talents with which he entrusted us. I don’t want to be lazy and apathetic and overly comfortable. I want to be used by God. I want to be excellent at work. I know there is a balance, and I try to hit it.
It’s just extra hard when one spouse’s idea of the correct amount of margin is so different from the other’s.
I have a book called Margin that I’ve been meaning to read. Thanks for the reminder… both to read the book and to plan in some margin.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
.-= bondChristian´s last blog ..Here’s a tip: Leave generous tips =-.
Seems like most people who need the book don’t have time for the book.
Isn’t that the truth!
*raising my hand in the air*
Yep … I definitely need more margin in my life …
.-= Kevin M.´s last blog ..Do you believe in God but not in prayer? =-.
We can’t plan for the unexpected, but we can leave room to respond to it. Great point, Reverend Wilson!
.-= Helen´s last blog ..Pictures of Pirate Fest =-.
Thanks for this Pete. It is such a great point to remember. When we are tempted to over-book ourselves to be as “productive as possible” we should remember that it can also be counter-productive!
We’ve been talking about this in our church leadership the last several months. Not only are our own personal lives marginless but so is our church calendar! We’re making our next year (we do a fiscal, July-June calendar) “The Year of the White Space”! Not only are we encouraging our community to spend less time volunteering and participating in every last thing the church has to offer, but we are intentionally offring less, cutting back the calendar. We want people to be with their families and spend time in the community being with people who don’t know Jesus. You can bet ministries are howling as we cut them back. But you know it’s bad when the church calendar is so chock full and the pastors are so busy there’s no room to celebrate memorial services for dear members who suddenly head off to heaven! Not to mention all the other things that God is surprising us with, that we don’t have the margin, the white space, to truly embrace and enjoy.
.-= Christine´s last blog ..Things I Learned (yesterday…) in Preschool =-.
Great point Christine!
Great post Pete! A reminder to be fully awake to what matters and to what we might otherwise miss. i’m sure Christ waits to meet us in the margins.
In reading this I thought about my prayers or rather whines this morning on my drive to work. My life feels sterile and empty.. I have become so obsessed with planning and schedules that I have stamped out all spontaneity in my world. Believe it or not, this has erased the laughter and joy.. It reminds me to step back and dance in the rain.. Who cares if I’m a few minutes early or late? It’ll be okay…
Yes! Also as a mom of young kids no margin equals a frazzled mommy and a frazzled mommy is tends to be too frustrated to bless her little ones. Margin is essential! Thanks for a great post!
.-= Kristina´s last blog ..Wordful and Works for Me All Rolled Into One =-.
Huge implication here for those of us who are parents.
I had no margin for the longest time. That fact alone made my ministry ineffective at best and detrimental to the people I led at worst.
And I should’ve paid more attention. I’d heard the sermons on margin: http://bit.ly/9lKF4Q . I’d read the books on margin: http://bit.ly/a6QfZn
But I still didn’t listen.
And I burned out. And I fell apart. And now I’m picking up the broken pieces of a life once devoted to serving God, wondering where it all went wrong.
.-= Nate´s last blog ..A poem. . . =-.
this is so true. when i live right on the edge of my budget, it leaves no room for “others”. and when i schedule myself down to the very minute, it leaves no room for the unplanned “opportunities”.
.-= JuliaKate´s last blog ..interview with a covert conspirator… =-.
I have found recently, that the more margin I build in project deadlines and even scheduling appointments, leads to a more creative outcome.
When it comes to finances, I feel more relaxed and am ready to give when margin is substantial.
The thing is, margin takes planning and discipline. And don’t we all hate that d-word…
For sure!
I never thought of margin … for noticing others. That’s great, Pete.
I usually think of margin for myself… my sanity and my spiritual space.
Hmm.. I think I need more margin in being spontaneous with my boys. This is hard for me at the preschool age. ‘Cuz I like keeping things on schedule with them. But, the times I put in more margin, I find their jokes more funny.. and I come up with some myself!
.-= Faith Barista | Bonnie´s last blog ..Birth Certificate — Going Off Script =-.
I know I need to build more margin into the tasks I do… but somehow, my creative juices don’t seem to flow until the deadline gets closer!
That said, I need to build margin because I’m a goal oriented type person. So margin becomes important otherwise I miss all the blessings of the actual jourtney.
.-= Paul Gardner´s last blog ..What Do You Understand About Jesus? =-.
This took my breath. So simple yet so profound…wow.
.-= Robin´s last blog ..The Prayer God Always Answers… =-.
perfect timing of this post w my family’s life–we’re transitioning to a new role in ministry, but before we report we are taking time to build back in some margins that we lost doing ministry full time for the last seven years.
.-= Brian Barela´s last blog ..3 Ways to Retain New People in Your Ministry =-.
Great thoughts and very needed – hard part is in order to plan on margin means you get farther behind so maybe its time to rethink