When what you need is space
Recently I had a beautiful conversation with a dear friend. God has birthed a vision in our hearts, a shared desire to offer encouragement to women. As we chatted about some of the specifics of how this hope inside us might come to fruition, we discussed the need all women have – but most ignore – for space. We need time and room to rest, to dwell in the presence of God.
A few weeks ago, a younger friend started a private Facebook discussion with several of us about how to balance time to be creative as the mom of little ones. I wrote this:
“I just want to tell you this: there is time!! You don’t have to do it all now. Love your children … and allow these years to be preparation. Create, yes! Please! Keep writing, sewing, painting, singing … keep dreaming. Study, read, do what you can. But PLEASE don’t dwell on what you can’t do right now. I promise, there is time.”
I closed my longish tome to these ladies with these words, “I wish I could bring you all to my house and give you a hug and let you sit and share with me about the dreams God has placed in your hearts. I’d love to listen to all the ways God is at work in you. And I’d love to pour you each a cup of tea and pray for your hearts and minds, for wisdom as you seek to live not in balance but in obedience. You are precious, each one of you, and I am praying for you even now.”
I really believe what we are all asking is how do I find the space for “being” in the midst of the necessary “doing.” Regardless of the season of life, our enemy wants to keep us caught there. If we are consumed with doing, we never really know the abundant life of being (John 10:10).
What do I wish I had more of? Space. Not rooms in my house or even hours in my day, but space in my heart that allows me to dwell in Christ always.
I’m finding that happens in small ways, unexpected moments, surprising glimpses of eternity. I’ve been reading Brother Lawrence’s classic writing, “The Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of a Holy Life.” Yesterday, in the Ninth Letter, he wrote this, “She is full of good will, but she would go faster than grace! One does not become holy all at once.”
We must know before we can love. In order to know God, we must often think of Him. And when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.
That’s what I want more of – for my heart to be stayed on God, for Him to be my treasure, and that happens over time. I don’t want to go faster than grace. So, I grasp this lesson slowly but intentionally. To find Him in all the spaces and allow Him to create the space I need, trusting Him with my calendar, with my plans, with my dreams and learning to listen.
