Jan. 8th, 2013 Living on the Edge of a Knife

Today’s post was going to be all about margin.

It still is…sort of.

When I chose my One Word for 2013, Margin seemed like the obvious choice. (You can read about how Margin applies to my writing life over at The Write Conversation). I knew my life needed more margin. More space to be creative, more space to be spontaneous, more space to serve, more space to just be. 

I also knew I needed to do a better job of setting my margins. Of giving myself some boundaries, of turning off the lights, of walking away from projects and being okay with the knowledge that they’ll be waiting on me tomorrow or next week.

What I didn’t realize was that living without margin is the equivalent to living my life on the very edge of a knife. Sooner or later, something is going to slip, and when it does, it’s not going to be pretty.

Last Thursday, I got a very painful lesson on the importance of margin.

I won’t go into detail, but my thumb is now sporting a very bulky bandage. I spent the weekend in a haze of pain medicine and the latest news is, “It will heal, but it’s going to take a while.”
Not what I wanted to hear.
All because I failed to maintain the margin between my thumb and the knife I was holding.
It’s a lesson I’ll be processing every time I try to pick up my son or open a zip lock bag. 
Margin is the difference between living life fully and hobbling your way through each day.
Believe me…I know.
We’ll talk about margin more in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, if you have a One Word for the year, or if you have suggestions for maintaining margins, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Grace and peace,

Lynn

photo credit: My one word button was a gift from the oh-so-generous Melanie over at Only A Breath. You should check her out!

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5 Comments

  1. Ouch!! I'll pray you heal quickly and that God continues to reveal things to you in the process. For me, creating margin was a process of shifting from me to Him, from doing to being–learning to have a still heart before Him even during the busyness. OBVIOUSLY, it is a life-long process. 🙂

  2. Ouch is right! Honey, you definitely need to widen that margin. Praying for my sweet friend…asking for healing, and for more of these awesome anologies to flood your writing this year! You work well in the margins! Keep going!!

  3. I'm so sorry, Lynn! As one who's had joint replacements in both thumbs and had to do without them for weeks, I know what a struggle that is!

    Your post made me think: If I don't do a better job of creating margin in my life, what might He have to do to force the issue?

    I'm working on it. I really am.

    Praying for a quick recovery!

  4. Kay Overman says:

    Praying for a speedy and pain free healing. When a thumb is out of service it makes life very difficult. May the margins present themselves often in whatever you are doing.

  5. admin says:

    Thanks everyone! Forgive me for not responding to each comment individually. My thumb is healing, slowly but surely. The pain is significantly less now as long as I don't bump it (which happens several times a day). Thank you for all your prayers!