When Voicemail Is Nicer
Café Menu for Friday, October 30, 2015
Today’s Special is: The Ten-Minute Solution
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Noelle Dey
Main Ingredient:
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6 NIV
Entrée:
Can I have “voicemail” Noelle?
What?
I called you at work yesterday and I didn’t recognize your voice on your voicemail. You sounded so nice. I want that version of you.
In my defense, that request came from one of my friends at boot camp. He will never hear voicemail Noelle. At least, not at boot camp.
But as I drove home, I started to wonder. Do I speak to my husband and daughter with the kindness that beams forth from my voicemail greeting? What about the customer service agent who answers my call after I’ve been on hold for a crazy long time?
The kindness in my voice is a barometer of my margins.
Like most women, I have many responsibilities. I am a wife and a mom. I am a sister, a friend, a sales representative. I teach fitness classes and lead a ministry at church.
On most days, I hurry from one role to another. And in the midst of my hurry, I lose my voicemail voice. My conversation is not full of grace. It’s not seasoned with salt. I don’t know how to answer anyone.
Psalm 23 holds a key to healthy margins. God wants to refresh our souls and renew our strength as we switch from one responsibility to another. He calls us to rest and to enjoy solitude (Psalm 23:1-3).
Initially I resisted this wisdom. But in a recent morning quiet time, God opened my eyes to a practical solution.
If I gave up just one TV show a day, I’d have ten minutes between each of my roles. Ten minutes to turn off my phone. To close my eyes. Ten minutes to hide from the rest of the world and let God’s grace and love refill my tank. Ten minutes to restore my voicemail voice.
Take Out:
How about you? If your tank is low, do you lose your voicemail voice?
What can you cut back on in order to let God restore your soul? Social media? Television? Gossip?
Schedule ten-minute breaks as you switch from one role to another. Turn the electronics off, close your eyes and ask God to fill you up!
Dessert:
Dear Heavenly Dad, thank You for being the Restorer of our souls. Show each of us in practical ways how to be filled up in the midst of our days so we can pour Your love out. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen!
© 2015 by Noelle Dey. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Friday, 30 October 2015.
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