Margin for Relationships

November 21, 2023

”Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.” (Matthew 11:28)

Over the past couple of years, I've noticed this concerning trend in the modern adult lifestyle.

Working professionals, in particular, are becoming extremely busy with jammed packed schedules that leave absolutely no margins for relationships.

Speaking from personal experience, it can take weeks sometimes months to find time “to connect” on the calendar. Only to then need to cancel/reschedule because something pressing comes up.

We’ve drifted into a way of living that has made means of rest and recovery an afterthought when they should be essential elements of our lifestyle design.

I believe a root cause for this design problem is the misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the terms “easy” and “better.” 

We tend to use them interchangeably when they have very different and distinct meanings.

Easy, as an adjective, means not hard or difficult, requiring no great labor or effort.

Better, as an adjective, means of superior quality or excellence.

We’re wired to want better, but modern society has us convinced that an easy life is a better life.

So we’ve set out to design an “easy life” with a heavy emphasis on comfort and convenience, which actually hampers growth ultimately leaving us inadequately prepared for the opportunities that will come our way.

To combat this, when those moments arise, we turn up the urgency by canceling those planned connections, trade sleep for a little extra strain, we do what we have to do to “get it done”.

But we’re exhausted, weary, and lonely!

The only way to stop this vicious cycle is through lifestyle design. Rest and recovery need to be prioritized in your design plans.

Leave margin for relationships, especially restorative relationships, like one with God!