As many of you know, I have been in transition with a new firm. It was a huge process closing down my firm of nearly 10 years and a flurry of activity finishing up cases and moving cases over. About a month after the transition, I got to the point where I was settled and much of the work was finished. I worked so hard that everything was done and I felt empty – like “What am I going to do now?”
Photo credit via Lynne Hand
My natural state is to dislike empty space or time. I value productivity and I am very driven. Naturally, I want things done yesterday and, if yesterday isn’t possible, then right this minute will suffice. It bothered me that I had long open blocks of time, unscheduled just sitting there.
Then, a client called with an emergency situation. She was actually referred to another attorney in the firm who was in trial that day. I was able to meet with her because I was free. I had space in my day to be able to help her. I was able to address her emergency with the Court that day and start a course of events which continues to bring healing to that family and is changing the course of the child’s life for what I hope will be forever. All of this because I had space in my life for God to bring me the work He wanted me to do.
From that point, I started to meditate around the idea of space. At the time, my dating life was very active. Most of the nights when I didn’t have children were filled with time spent with one guy or the other. God really put it on my heart that my social calendar was too full. The dating was really me just spinning my wheels. If your desire is to have the right relationship, for God’s perfect one, what is the point of spending time with ones who are not the right relationship? I needed to make space on my social calendar and trust God to fill it with the right people.
It is a different life when we don’t try to over plan and over schedule. It is peaceful to trust enough to leave space in your life for good things. It is also quite the adventure. Nothing feels like waking up not exactly sure how the day or week or month or year is going to go. It is exciting! I would say that “the sky is the limit” but that’s not even true. The truth is that our God is the limit. That, my friends, is really good news.
This week, I challenge you to think about the idea of space. I know at times I have moved out of fear. I was afraid that if I just had open, empty space I wouldn’t have enough money or wouldn’t be successful or wouldn’t find a man. The truth, I’m finding, is that the best of life comes into the space we leave for God to work.