I’ve always been a bit of a busy bee. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a workaholic. I definitely appreciate my downtime and rest. But I am also married and have four kids; being busy comes with the territory. However, from time to time I notice a lesson I keep forgetting. I find some kind of fulfillment in being so busy that I make no room for anything else. I find myself declining invitations because of all my “previous commitments.” In that busyness, I find that even God Himself may not be able to hand me anything new when I just don’t have the margin.
But I desperately want what He has for me! I don’t want to sacrifice a new calling, undertaking, or blessing simply because I haven’t time in my schedule for it. The Bible tells us that He has ordained times:
“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
“…And in Your book were all written
the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.” Psalm 139:16b
Years ago, anytime I knew a new baby was on the way, I made a deal with myself. I didn’t want to sacrifice my calling as a mother and thereby dishonor and potentially hurt my children because I just didn’t “have time” for all their needs. So I would intentionally think about what I was currently doing or involved in that I could “sacrifice” or cut out of my life to make room for a new baby. The most obvious “space-makers” were finances. My husband and I determined what to let go of in order to provide what our children needed–cable, better internet service, eating out, among other luxuries. I also had to make space physically in our home, the drawers, the bathrooms, and the kitchen, as well as make space in our schedule and commitments.
Recently, when the Holy Spirit prodded me to remember that old lesson, I thought about all I was doing–all the projects, the volunteering, the kids’ activities–and I realized I had done it again. I was not in a place to receive anything, even if the Lord asked me.
There’s a great song by Jonathan McReynolds that says:
I find space for what I treasure,
I make time for what I want.
I choose my priorities and
Jesus, You’re my number one.
I will make room for You,
I will prepare for two
So You don’t feel that You don’t live here.
Please, live in me!
Once again, I find myself recalculating the costs, the commitments, and the callings. Which ones are just good ideas and which ones are God’s ideas? We all have a limited resource that God has ordained for us: time. May we make choices that honor His count of our days.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
About the Writer
Rachel, her beloved husband Allesandro, and their four homeschooled children have been members of First Baptist Dallas for almost a decade. The Lord allowed her to attain a K-12 Choral Music Education degree from Ouachita Baptist University while simultaneously delivering her from illness and certain death. Her profession as an educator spans almost 20 years, including 15 years as a private vocal coach. Having been raised in a ministry family in both the U.S. and Brazil, Rachel finds it practically instinctive to serve her community through education and worship ministries. She is daily dependent on the Lord’s supernatural intervention to fuel not only her passions to learn, educate, and serve, but her personal faith to press onward.