Daily Delight

Are you consumed by the attempt to balance more plates than you can comfortably carry? Do you constantly feel like you should be doing more?

I recently mentioned to a friend that I was trying to squeeze another summer activity for my kids into an already jam-packed week. Without missing a beat, she asked if I was leaving myself "margin." Meaning, was I leaving adequate time in our schedule to live fully and peacefully?

I have been thinking about that a lot as we head into summer. What is it about this life between Eden and Heaven that convinces us the more we have on our plates, the more we’re living- yet at the same time, whispers to us that we are too busy to spend time in the Word, seeking God? We over-schedule, leaving no time for devotions or extra bedtime stories. We over-schedule to the point we are frantically running around scrambling to complete all the things, hoping to have a shred of sanity left at the end of the day. We run ourselves ragged simply because it is what the world says we should be doing.

Busyness should never keep us from seeking God. If we are over-scheduling ourselves so that we do not have time to spend pursuing a relationship with Him, we are missing the point. Psalm 23 reminds us where our peace is found: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1-3, ESV)

The Lord is our shepherd and should be our guide, not busyness. He encourages us to lie down and find rest in Him despite the busyness that screams at us because there is more to be done. The Lord can offer us true and lasting refreshment and contentedness in our soul. This is something this world will never be able to offer. He alone can satisfy.

Are you leaving yourself margin? Are you making time to drown out the whispers of this world long enough to receive the guidance, rest, renewal, and peace God wants to plentifully provide you with?

About the Author

Stephanie Scott

Stephanie is a 31-year -old Florida native, who after over a decade moving around ended up back in her hometown. Together, with her high school sweetheart, she is excited to begin putting down roots on their 10-acre Farmstead in central Florida. She can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hands chasing after the four tiny people that call her “Momma.“

When she is not busy raising her family or helping to harvest vegetables for people in the community, Stephanie serves at her church encouraging and teaching women.

After her husband broke his back on a military training exercise, Stephanie got ready to wag her finger at God but quickly realized that she was the one in need of a lesson.

Learning to trust His plans and timing has been a humbling experience and one that has brought her to her knees more times than she can count. While clinging to verses like Matthew 11:28-30 and Romans 12:12, Stephanie has learned to wholeheartedly seek after God and has become passionate about sharing the lessons she has learned with others.

You can follow along as Stephanie shares about her faith, family, and farming over at her blog The Faithful Farmstead and on Instagram @thefaithfulfarmstead