In a literal sense, margin is the open space circumscribing the writing on a piece of paper. It designates the space that the writer is not supposed to write in. It is intended to create a tidy boundary that contains the content of the rest of the page. Without margins, the page would feel overcrowded, overwhelming, confusing, and possibly illegible, even if filled with lots of good content. Margins in life serve the same kind of purpose – to keep the busyness and fullness and necessity of life (all of which might be very good and important stuff!) from overflowing beyond its proper place and invading the open spaces that allow such valuable work to be sustained.
Self-talk can be used as an effective form of self-motivation and self-regulation, but, when dominated by the voice of the inner critic, its effect is anything but helpful. It tends to keep us feeling defeated, alienated, and exhausted. Moreover, the inner critic distorts our view of self so that we begin to define ourselves more by our perpetual insufficiencies rather than the absolute and unchanging sufficiency of God’s love for us. So what can be done to put this inner critic in its rightful place and better align our self-talk with the realities of God’s love for us? Our team shares their own personal insights and practices on this all-too-familiar challenge.
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