October 2, 2026
I have been working on several projects lately at my job that require correct placement of the document on the page. There is a little button on Word where you can change the layout and margins of your document. You have the ability to choose different margin settings such as normal, narrow or wide.
If you choose a narrow margin you can certainly have more printed lines on your page, or choose wide and have fewer lines on your page. I consistently leave my margins set at normal, which is the usual, average or typical margin. A margin is the outside limit of something. I have also been working in Excel quite a bit. There is a button on Excel where you can print your document and choose to change from “normal margins” to “fit all columns on one page.”
I have thought about the word “margins” and what it means by relating them not only to documents but to everyday matters. I like margins, on my papers and in my life. I like the normal, the usual, the average margins in my life. These are the margins where I feel as though everything is balanced: work, home, relationships. Normal days, normal life occurrences, and normal schedules.
I realize this is not the way life always is. I realize there are “seasons” of days or weeks where life is busier and your margins are very narrow. However, when our lives are balanced and we have the normal margins we are not too busy to hear from God. Normal leaves ample time in your day to be still and hear God and also time to allow God to speak to your heart and use you.
When we are stretched to the max, not only are we stressed but our mind is working on overload and our margins are very thin and narrow, leaving less and less down time to hear from and respond to what God is saying or asking us to do.
I also thought about the times when you try to print an Excel sheet and have to change from normal margins to “fit all columns on one page.” I don’t know if you have ever had to do this but most of the time when you try to fit everything on one page there is so much information that the print becomes so small that you can barely read or decipher what the spreadsheet has on it.
At times I feel like my life is like that. There's so much going on, so many things to accomplish, and so many responsibilities that it is hard to see the direction or even the tasks that need to be completed. The busyness of life and overcommitted schedules can crowd out the voice of God.
I think about the story of Martha in the Bible. She was so busy, anxious and troubled about many things and because her schedule was so overloaded and her margins so narrow she didn’t have time to place any of her focus on Jesus. Her margins were definitely not normal and in the process of fitting all her "to do" items (columns) on one page, she missed out on the most important thing, which was spending time with Jesus.
For me, I have felt as though I am living my life with very thin margins and trying to fit too many assignments into one day. It can cause me to feel stressed and anxious. The truth is I have to set my margins. We all do.
We have to make sure we save precious, needed time to be still and know that He is God. I can only do so much in one day and I have to be aware enough of my schedule and my time to set the limits and keep my margins at normal.
Life can be overwhelming at times. The responsibilities are great and the tasks seem never-ending. However, God still wants me to spend time with Him and I need to spend time with Him. Normal margins on a paper give you room to take notes on the side. Normal margins in life give you room to spend time with God, write down the notes He tells you, and act on them.
I think we are all guilty of overcommitting and overworking which leads to being overwhelmed. I am going to work real hard to put my margins back to a “normal” setting giving me time to be still, hear from God, and follow His leading. I want to strive to be an ordinary person with balance in my day which will allow God time to write His story using me in the “normal” margins of my life. What about you? Do you need to reset your margins to hear from God?
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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
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