My thoughts have all been about our thoughts, the white noise around us, and the realization that it truly is so hard to keep Gods voice the loudest in our lives. Last week I interviewed “Best selling Author and Speaker Angie Smith” and she even shared how hard it is to keep God’s voice loud in our lives but how important it is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
EP 08: Stop With Your To-Do Lists; Start Making Room
While us as women work hard to keep our life “tidy,” you know the house clean, dishes done, errands finished, and kids well behaved… Jesus is just waiting for our attention.
I wanted to take a few minutes on this episode and ask you if you have left room (an empty space in your calendar for Jesus to fill. Every Sunday evening I get my calendar out and write everything in it (basketball practices, orthodontist apt, Church activities, work appointments, Bible study, and of course this week I had to add grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning to prepare for 40 people coming over for Thanksgiving. I am sure your calendar is all penciled in and looks crazy like mine.
A few weeks ago when I sat down to do my calendar, I felt the Lord whisper (it wasn’t audible) but I knew it was Him, He said, “MAKE ROOM.” I paused a second and I realized that I needed to make room in my schedule not really knowing why. As I was filling out my “timed” passion planner I started to look back at the weeks and months prior and the reality of my life was that I filled up every minute/ hour/ and day with “something” whether it was errands, school/ kid things, Church, ministry, work and I never left any breathing room. And if I did have a block of time I was scrambling around trying to fill it with the things I wished would get done (like I cleaned out my clothes/ drawers, wiped down my refrigerator). I have made time for my personal devotion/ study time, working out (well that was a little spotty), cleaning the house, business calls— But there wasn’t a spare hour that I “purposefully left empty” UNTIL LAST FEW WEEKS.
I took God’s voice seriously and even said NO to a few things so I could clear some time (and that my friends is a Thanksgiving miracle). I knew God would use it because He told me to make room. I kind of expected some crazy thing to happen and He would fill it with a way for me to help someone or something would come up and I would be so glad I left that time open. But do you know what happened? I used that time and RESTED. I took blocks of time and listened to worship music and closed my eyes, I watched an episode of House Hunters (I love that show), I even took a 1 hour nap one day. And you know what- LIFE STILL WENT ON!
Crazy huh? I seriously took time for myself, yall! I even took a whole day (got a sitter to get the kids from school) and drove an hour and 45 minutes to shop and have lunch with my friends Lara Shumaker and Ashley Francis! WHAT! We had the best day shopping and laughing and took the time to just invest in my real genuine friendships! This is a busy time of year and I can honestly say that if I wasn’t listening to God’s voice tell me to “make room” I wouldn’t have had such a great day with my friends because I would have been WAY too busy. But all of the things I had down that day got shifted to another day, and I STILL LIVED! And so did everybody else.
This last year has been a tough one for me; I am not going to lie. I feel like I have been in a “pruning” season where things are changing, people have left my life, and there have been days I have looked up and things didn’t look familiar. I’ve shed lots of tears (and if you know me you know I never cry (only in Hallmark movies or if a dog dies). But this year God has stripped some things out of my life and I have experienced hurt from people that I never imagined. And I can see now that I filled up my calendar with BUSY and PRODUCTIVITY to feel validated that I am working hard. Looking back I know that what I needed and still need more then anything is ROOM! Room to take a deep breath, watch a Hallmark movie, room for lunch with friends, a long nap, and an opportunity to be with my Savior. Not to study His Word, but just sitting in His presence.
I don’t think I will ever be on my deathbed hoping the dishes get done or the laundry to be actually put away. I am going to crave more time with my family and friends. So why not live that way NOW? Make room for things that truly matter and surround myself with people who not just love me but also cheer me on. I kept seeing a little graphic go around social media and it said,
“Your circle should want to see you win. Your circle should clap the loudest when you have good news. If it doesn’t, then get a new circle.
WOW! CAN I GET AN AMEN! But I do want to add something to it. It needs to finish with, “And make sure you make room to do that for others.” RIGHT! I know the season of life you are in right now may be crazy because you are being the cook, chauffeur, mom, wife, grandmother, employee, boss, owner, and friend but I pray that this episode has gently given you permission to push a few things back so you can “make room” for the little things that fill your soul to accomplish those big things.
I love you ladies, and as we enter into Thanksgiving and prepare to surround our tables and hearts with family and friends I pray you also make room for the moments that give you rest, people that encourage you, and places that inspire you.
Life is too short not to!
There is a season and time for everything. This is what God’s Word says, in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
A Time for Everything
- There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
- a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot
- a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
- a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
- a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
- a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
- a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Let’s make this Thanksgiving a season and a time where you learn to “make room” in your life, and see how Jesus wants to fill it!
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