Making A Little Space
FROM THE RECTOR
How did you start your day today? How has that start affected the rest of your day? Earlier this week, I woke up a little earlier than usual. I had plenty of time to say my prayers, read the lessons for the upcoming Sunday, write down a few reflections from the previous day, and sit quietly and enjoy the calm before the busyness of the day caught up with me. Later that morning, after helping get our children ready for school, I noted aloud how getting up early had put me in a great mood. One of our children rejected the premise behind that remark: “No one ever said that getting up early put them in a good mood.”
For many of us, especially adolescents, the idea of getting up early sounds like bad news. Sometimes I need a little extra sleep, too. Sometimes the fatigue of a full Sunday or a long Wednesday makes it harder for me to grab that extra hour in the morning, yet those are the mornings when I usually need that first hour of quiet the most. Without it, the task of getting my children up and out the door becomes a little more harried. I have enough time to do everything I need to get done, but there is no time for anything else. I leave the house and head to the church with a sense that every moment of my day will need to be carefully executed or else there will not be enough time for that day’s work. Although I am not actually behind, the fear of falling behind casts a shadow over the whole day. In exchange for that extra hour of sleep, I sacrifice an entire day of focus, calm, and peace that come from starting the day by renewing myself and my relationship with God.
Each one of us is given twenty-four hours every day. How we spend them is largely up to us. Some of those hours are pledged to work, school, and family. All of us need sleep and exercise. Moments for rest and recovery, socialization and leisure are essential, too. Finding the right balance can mean the difference between living with a constantly depleted reserve or flourishing as if we always have a little more to give. None of us has any more time in a day than anyone else, yet some seem to have found that magic recipe for a full and fruitful life while the rest of us struggle to keep up.
The same is true with how we spend our money. Unlike hours in the day, our wealth is not evenly distributed among us, yet the principle of pursuing spiritual growth through intentional spending applies to everyone regardless of how much or little they have. Whatever your income, some is pledged to housing, food, and utilities. All of us pay taxes in one form or another. Money for fun with friends and gifts for others is important, too. But managing our finances in a way that enables us to encounter each day, each week, each month with peace and confidence requires intention and sacrifice. No matter how rich we are, we cannot flourish spiritually if we always feel behind or feel like there will never be enough.
Just as giving the first hour of the day to God shapes us into believing that there will be enough time to do everything that needs to be done, giving the first portion of our income to God teaches us to trust that in God there will always be enough. That is why stewardship is as much a spiritual practice as a financial one. Whatever our income, when we start by giving back to God a certain portion of our riches, we orient our entire financial lives around our relationship with God. We not only make space in our budget for God, but we find new space and freedom in all of our financial decisions. Even though we actually have less at our disposal, what we have feels like more because we recognize that what we have is an abundance.
Setting aside the first portion of anything is incredibly simple and incredibly hard. It asks nothing more than what is already at our disposal, yet it requires us to decide on the front end that giving something up will be good for us—that, in the end, we will have more than we need. That is an exercise in faith—one that builds faith by requiring faith. As we approach Celebration Sunday, I hope you will think about what you will give next year as an opportunity to make a little more space in your life for God. I think you will find that doing so is even more important for you than for the church.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan