The priority of creating margin

By Rob Hurtgen

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 90:12. It reads, "Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts."

The notion of counting our days not only reminds us of the brevity of life, but also compels us to make the days we have count.

One way to make your days count is by intentionally creating margin in your life to forge a space for the life you've always wanted.

Margin is absolutely vital. Without margin, a book is difficult to read. Without margin, a photograph is tough to look at.

The right balance of margin creates an aesthetic value that may be hard to define but is certainly noticeable when it is missing.

Just like books and photographs need margin, so does life.

Margin creates the space for what is most important. Learning to count your days means taking stock of what is most important in the season of life you are in.

A little girl will only be 3 once. A grandson will only make his pitching debut once. You and your spouse will have that anniversary once.

To experience that richness of life as God desires, you must create margin.

Creating margin sounds easy, but it is very hard. Most of the decisions we make each and every day are not between those things that are harmful and those that are beneficial, but what is good, better or best. Intentionally creating margin is a matter of consistently choosing the best over what is good.

Everything you say "yes" to means you have said "no" to something else. Saying "yes" to checking your social media feed means saying "no" to a conversation with the person in front of you.

Saying "yes" to attending the peewee football game means saying "no" to the volunteer meeting.

How you choose to make your days count is revealed quickly in what you say "yes" and "no" to.

Margin will never be created by accident. Yet to move past counting your days to making your days count, you must intentionally create margin.