Fifth Sunday of Lent // Creating Empty Spaces In Our Schedules
“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Isreal, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’” - Isaiah 30:15 As someone who enjoys hustle and bustle, I often ignore the signs of burn-out or fatigue until it’s too late—and then epic spiritual, emotional, and sometimes physical meltdowns follow. It’s a cycle my husband has called me out on over the years, and one I’m actively working to break. Making good use of our time is a spiritual requirement, but overexerting, never saying “no”, losing precious family and God time is not. Instead, I am now actively working to create blank, empty spaces in my calendar to allow God to fulfi ll as He sees fit.
One guardrail my family has established is Sunday Sabbath days—we do not commit to anything on Sundays unless it fulfi lls our requirements—church, family time, little use of technology, and rest. By creating an empty day in our week (empty in terms of little plans), we have allowed ourselves time to be fi lled with the Lord, our love as a family, and rest—all things vital for our family to make it week to week. Look over your week this week—where can you leave a blank spot? What needs to be erased and nothing penned in? How can you create empty places to be filled by the Lord?