Margins. They can be a beautiful thing. I love words - being a writer and an avid reader. However, I love margins.

Let me be honest. I like margins because I can write in them.

I know, that sounds horrible. In any non-fiction, inspirational book I read, I write in the margins. I highlight. I make the book my own. Even on my Kindle, which doesn't have margins, I add notes and highlights.

There are margins on the road. You know, those yellow and white lines. They are there to keep you safe. To guide you. To show you where to drive .... and where not to drive.

The same is true in life. God gives us margins. Places where He doesn't want us to go. Things He wants us to say "No," or "Not right now" on. Times He wants us to say "Yes." However, just like in my books, sometimes, I tend to fill in the margins of my life. I add things I shouldn't. If I am often, I don't always consult God to find out if this is something I am supposed to add to the pages of the chapter of my life. Sometimes, I write it in on the margins. The things were never intended to be there, but all of a sudden, the writing is scribbled - and even writing over top of the words that were written with my best interest in mind.

What happens when we blur the margins in our life? Well, it isn't always bad. Sometimes, there are things we are suppose add-on to our plates. But often, we add things on our own. When we do that, we get tired. When there is more on our plate then we should have, we burn ourselves out and just get tired. Tired often leads to grouchy. Grouchy leads to not being the right kind of wife or Mama you family needs. Tired leads to spending less time in God's word. Less time in God's word means you are not walking in the Spirit - which means we are mothering and being a wife in our flesh - and we all know where that can lead! When we are not spending the time in God's Word we need to - we often add, yet again, to our margins.

If you are like me, you might think others will judge you, or become upset if you say no. I know that I have felt this way. Or that maybe you will be judged on how spiritual you are based on what you do or don't do. Oh, I know all these fears. I have lived them. However, if I can be honest, I think it takes a spiritually mature person to be able to say no. To be able to know their limits, boundaries, and to rely on God for each and EVERY step of the journey, leaving no decisions in your hand alone!

Sweet friend, what have you added to the margins of your life? What is there that needs to be erased. One thing I learned early on, when writing in the margins, is that it is best to write in pencil. Pencil can be erased and isn't permanent. Prayerfully look at the things that are going on in your life, the things the might have been added because you just "couldn't say no" or didn't want to disappoint - and find the things in your life that can be erased - or at least put down for a little while.

There are moments you can't get back. Don't fill every moment with writing. Learn to be still and know....

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Worshipful Living. It has been republished here with permission.