A year of making space
I’ve been posting for about a year now, and I’m honestly a little surprised I’ve kept it up, because self-discipline has never really been one of my strengths. At the beginning of every month for the past twelve months, I’ve written about making space in our lives, and I really cannot stress enough how imperfectly I live this out, even as I keep returning to it again and again.
But I crave it in my weary soul. I crave time alone with God, even if it’s just a breath, even if it’s just an hour in spiritual direction, even if it feels small or fleeting or not nearly enough. Maybe that’s why I keep writing about it, because it matters so much to me and I am, at the same time, so very bad at it.
And here we are again, at the beginning of another month, still circling back to the same thing.
Reaching the twelve-month mark did make me curious, though, because how could I possibly have found something new to say about making space for an entire year? So here is a little round-up of some of my “make space” posts, not just as a look back, but as a reminder (for you and for me) of the many small ways this can look. Honestly, part of me wants to just repost them all this year because what more is there to say? And yet, God keeps putting things on my heart. And even when it’s worded differently, it is still the same gentle invitation: our lives are fuller, more complete, more deeply rooted, when we put down the phone, loosen our grip on our busy-ness, and choose to make time with God a priority.
Here are some of the ways I’ve been learning (and failing, and trying again) to make space:
Making space by noticing and slowing down: paying attention as a spiritual practice.
Making space opens us to God’s abundance: seeing the world through God’s eyes, looking for beauty, freedom, and enoughness.
Making space as prayer: wordless prayer and the daily examen.
Making space can be simple, and you are allowed to take up space.
Making space as holy hospitality: living open to God and others.
Making space as releasing: letting go of what fills our time, energy, and attention.
Making space as a priority of time: choosing it, protecting it.
Making space is hard to do alone: the gift of spiritual direction.
You don’t have to do all of this. I’m not doing all of this. Most days, I’m barely doing any of it in a way that feels “right” or consistent or enough.
But you know what you need. You know when a few deep breaths will help you re-center, and you also know when it won’t even begin to touch the surface of what your soul is carrying. You know when you need a real pause, a longer stretch of quiet, an honest conversation with God, or space to be held and guided in spiritual direction.
Maybe making space today looks small, and maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it asks more of you than you want to give, or more than feels convenient or easy.
But I am slowly, imperfectly learning that the invitation is not just to squeeze God into the margins, but to actually make room: to choose it, to protect it, to let it be as big as it needs to be. And so we begin again, here at the start of another month, not trying to do it perfectly, but listening honestly for what we need, and trusting that God will meet us there.