Margin

I learned what Rene Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” I’m still not sure what Rene was getting at, but it sounds good. If you say it in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum” you can sound very intellectual, while not wholly understanding the concept.

I’m a more pedestrian thinker. My version of it is, “I drive, therefore I am.” I should have kept up with all the miles I have put on vehicles. I live twenty-three minutes from the church. I spend nearly an hour in the car each day going to and from the office. I love my commute on I-20. I have prayer time in the morning and again in the afternoon.

There are times that I’m praying for the driver in front of me, that they would quit being “doubleminded” and put their foot on the accelerator. I have also called upon the name of the Lord when the driver in the left lane suddenly cuts across my lane to exit the interstate quickly. I’ll wager they are thinking, “I signaled, didn’t I?”

For the past weeks from roughly the Bienville Parish line to the city limits of Ruston a little work has been going on. The trees on the side of the interstate are being removed. There is heavy equipment involved in the clearing of the shoulder. The contractor is cutting the trees down and then a machine comes and turns the tree into mulch. For miles, this crew is transforming the shoulder of the interstate. They are also removing the trees from the median of the interstate.

My first thought, when I saw the equipment, was I needed one of those.

My view has changed as the trees have disappeared.

The trees were allowed to grow too close to the road. I don’t know that factually, but it is an educated guess. This trimming allows for a margin of grass to separate drivers from trees that might fall in some kind of storm. It is visually appealing and calming.

Who would have thought that margin was important on the Interstate?

Margin is the edge or border of something. The page you are reading has some kind of margin. If it did not, your brain would revolt at the visual effrontery. We need a margin around the page to read. I’m learning that margin around the road is important too.

How about margin in your life? How are you getting it all done? Are you taking time to reflect? To rest? To pray?

I’m going to translate what Jesus said, in your Bibles it is transliterated.
Jesus said, “Rest (The Sabbath) was created for humanity, not humanity for the rest. (Sabbath.) Sabbath, rest, downtime, relaxing, or if you will margin, is a gift from God that allows you to renew yourself and to discover God’s grace in the simple things of life.

Take time off, it will change your view of the journey.

Doug de Graffenried is Pastor of Trinity Methodist Church in Ruston, Louisiana.