For years, I lived in a cycle I didn’t even recognize was broken. I said yes to every need. I pushed through every demand. I ran fast and hard because I thought that’s what faithfulness looked like. But deep down, I was running on fumes—and it showed up in the places I cared about most. My connection with God felt dry. My marriage was strained. And my kids were getting the leftovers. Maybe you’ve been there too.
One day while I was reading through Leviticus (not typically where I expect a breakthrough), God highlighted something that shifted everything. It was the instruction to Israel not to harvest the corners of their field. Leave them, He said—for the poor and for the stranger. That hit me. I’d been harvesting my life all the way to the edges—my time, my energy, my finances—leaving nothing left for others, and honestly, nothing left for me. I wasn’t making room for the stranger. I wasn’t even making room for the Spirit.
I started asking a new question: “What would it look like to live with intentional margin?” Not just for rest (though that’s important), but so I could be available—for divine appointments, for my family, for the people God sends into my path. That small obedience began to reorient my life. I started leaving the corners. I said no to some good things so I could say yes to the right things. I started making space not after the chaos, but before it.
Here’s what I want you to hear: you don’t need to earn rest. You don’t have to apologize for slowing down. God never asked you to burn out for the Kingdom. He’s not impressed with your exhaustion. What He wants is your availability, your attentiveness, your heart. And that starts with margin. It starts with creating boundaries so you can live fully present, fully surrendered, and deeply connected.
So if you’ve been stretched thin, I want to invite you into the same shift I had to make: don’t harvest your whole field. Leave the corners. Build in room for the poor, for the lost, and for the presence of God. I promise you—He will fill the space you make. And you’ll discover it wasn’t just about surviving better. It was about living Kingdom-first, margin-rich, and truly whole.
