White Space

My daughter likes to write on her bedroom walls. In permanent marker. And yes, on purpose.

I confess when she first asked me about it, there was a small part of me that shrieked internally that normal people don’t do such things. But then again, she’s not “normal”. But neither am I.

You see, we are both the creative types. And although my husband is probably thankful I haven’t written on our bedroom walls. I’m glad that she did.

My daughter is nearly ready to spontaneously combust with all her creative juices. Her loves include drawing, photography, writing, and just overall creativeness that well, sometimes comes out on her walls.

She started with her favorite quotes along with tidbits of décor. Now, when she invites friends over, they too join. Let me just say, she has some artistic friends. And although I was originally rather leary, the effect has been pretty amazing.

I confess, inwardly I also knew nothing a good can of paint couldn’t fix.

The only thing I suggested to her is that she might not want to write on all of them. Why not? She wanted to know.

Well, don’t you think it could be a little too much? Kind of like living inside a comic strip?

No – her answer came out quick. You see, in her mind, more is more, and that is better.

But I explained to her, even in the nicest looking document we create on paper, we leave a margin. It’s called white space. An area for our eyes to calm down.

I find that white space is even more important in life. To get away from the busyness and constant energy zapping activities of life. A place for our heart to calm down.

Jesus knew this well when He told his disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.”(For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) Mark 6:31

We live in busy days. Many people and things coming and going in our lives. I know there are days I don’t have time to eat. So, I can relate well to this verse. Imagine if Jesus said this 2000 years ago, what He would say today.

A secluded place to rest. A quiet break. An electronic hiatus. A Sabbath. Call it what you will. But we all need white space built in to our lives. We weren’t designed to have constant busyness.

When more becomes too much. Then less is more.

How do you create intentional white space in your life?