By Greg Grimstad

It’s confession time.  The police pulled me over the other night.  While driving along a road notorious for speed traps, I saw flashing lights in the rear view mirror.  My wife asked me right away if I was speeding, and fortunately I was driving under the limit.

What I learned after chatting with the friendly officer is that I had crossed over the “fog line” and he was making sure I wasn’t driving impaired. (I wasn’t.) Before he left, without issuing any ticket, I asked him, “OK, so what’s a fog line?”  I learned that it’s the solid white line on the right side of the road that helps us steer on the road when difficult conditions exist.  You learn something new every day.

As I continued to drive, I noticed that beyond the white line was the real danger. The fog line line was keeping me far away an awaiting disaster of a roll-over or a crash into a swampy marsh.

Heading into the Fall, there’s a tendency to go way beyond the fog line with time, schedules, and activities.  It seems like I have the tendency to shoehorn too many things into life and the calendar.  I somehow think it all will fit and when life swerves off the road, there’s not a lot of margin to save me from frustration and pain.

How is it for you?  As you’re heading into the Fall schedule evaluate how things are looking in these areas:

• Financial Margin. Are you spending more than you take in?  Do you have an emergency savings account for those unexpected expenses?  What would happen if “Murphy” showed up at your house?  You know him, he’s the water-heater-will-break-right-before-the-weekend-company-arrives guy.  Or he’s the Mr. Great Timing on the car repairs, just when you’re ready for some holiday shopping.  Set some savings goals and steer far away for racking up credit card debt.
• Family Margin. So when is the last time you all sat down for a meal together?  As you look at the week ahead, is there any down time?  As a family, (this includes the parents) try to electronically unplug every now and then so you can catch your breath and connect with each other.  If you’re single, do you have some quality time carved out to hang out with your friends?
• Social Margin. We’re in a new message series right now, and this is a great time to invite your friends and neighbors to church.  Do you have space in your world to connect with them?
• Spiritual Margin. Your relationship with God should be your number one priority.  It will affect your marriage, relationships, parenting, work, and life.  How is this reflecting in your schedule?  When is the last time you’ve had some extended time just being still before God?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone and these are things I need to work on as well. But I’ve found that they just don’t automatically happen, I need to put these in the schedule first before the other activities engulf the calendar.  So this week, be proactive, talk with your family and choose to have some margin in your life.

Which area do you need to work on the most for this fall?  What tips can you give others on dealing with a crazy schedule?

Greg is the director of Eagle Brook’s Care Ministries. He and his wife Sue have been married almost 30 years, are the parents of two daughters and the grandparents of two grandboys! He tweets @ggrimstad.