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“They set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.” Matthew 2:9-10
Epiphany arrives at the end of a busy, holiday season. Christmas paraphernalia has mostly been packed away, along with extra family time, and holiday parties. We arrive in the vast space of a new year, trying to prepare ourselves for the upcoming quiet and slumber of winter.
Winter is a season of darkness and cold for those of us in the northern parts of the Americas. It is often associated with hibernation, and what appears to be a lifeless world outside our windows. Less sunshine can lead to feelings of apathy and disengagement. But winter, despite the cold and dark, or more accurately because of these elements, is also the season before spring. Bulbs beneath the earth need the cold dormancy of winter before they can bloom again in the spring. It is an essential part of their natural life cycle.
Our lives, like the natural world, ebb, and flow. We are not always green, growing, and busy, like a summer garden. Each of us needs margin in our lives and times of rest and quiet. These are not simply unproductive times, as they might appear, but instead they can provide the necessary stillness before the start of new and joyful endeavors. Epiphanies, new understanding, and times of intense clarity need space or margin to happen.
During Epiphany the Christian Church celebrates the Magi and their long journey to find the Christ child. The Magi journeyed, and then “stopped and were overwhelmed with joy.” The Biblical story also recounts how the Magi returned home a different way, after God spoke to them in a dream. In stopping, they received the gifts of joy and new direction.
Good work gives meaning, joy, order, and purpose to our lives. So too, good rest and reflection can bring about needed change and new growth in our lives. At times we may be so busy all the margins are used up, but making intentional effort to clear a little space in our lives is a pursuit well worth our effort.
How could you build margin into your life? What could you put in the doesn’t need to be done column so that there is room for margin? What if you only gave 70% of your energy towards something this week? How would you use the extra 30%? Maybe the extra 30% would be for simply sitting and reflecting.
In this season of Epiphany, may we each find margin, and in those quiet spaces find joy and direction for the new year ahead.
Written by Gwen Lantz
Writer at somecomfortandjoy.wordpress.com
Harrisonburg Mennonite Church, Shenendoah Valley of Virginia
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