Room to Grow
We are getting ready to have 10 bushes ripped out of our front yard. I'm sure they were beautiful when the previous home owners planted them, but now they have grown so large and unruly that they are choking each other out! We can't keep up with the amount of trimming required to reign in this chaotic garden and so we are clearing the space and starting fresh. We plan to plant less - so that we all have a bit more breathing space.
I think 2020 was a year when we were all forced to do less. While no one enjoyed having their activities cancelled, for many, it was a much needed chance to slow down and breathe. And so, as the world reopens and we relaunch our extra-curriculars, I want to encourage you to plant less - to leave more empty space - to create room for beautiful things to grow.
Our church is currently unpacking a lifestyle that we refer to as the 4W Life. The W's represent Worship, Walk, Work, and Witness. Because God's Word so clearly calls us to these endeavors, it has been an important heart-check and a good opportunity for Ben and I to discuss how we are living (or not living) this type of lifestyle and what things we can add or change in order to better model this lifestyle for our children.
The catch is that you can only "add" so many things to your life before your schedule is so crammed that no one is thriving, so...adding beautiful, good, worthy things has to begin with margin. We must remove things from our schedule - and sometimes these things are also good and beautiful and worthy - in order to make room for the things we value MOST. That's hard - especially when, like the bushes in our yard, the roots are all deep and entangled.
The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this:
Decide what you want. - Ben Stein
According to your calendar, what does your family value MOST? If your heart and your day-planner don't align, then pray together as a family about where/how you can make room to worship, walk, work and witness.
As parents, planting seeds of faith in our children is good and important. Let's make sure they have room to grow.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us;
JRR Tolkien
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