Making Room for Jesus in an Overcrowded Life

I don’t know about you… but life can feel really full. Especially in certain seasons.

Not just busy in the obvious ways but full in your mind, your emotions, your to-do list, your responsibilities, even the good things can start to feel like they’re crowding everything else out. And somehow, without meaning to, time with Jesus can quietly get pushed to the side. Not because we don’t want Him. But because we don’t know where to fit Him.

This week, I was watching a YouTube video from one of my favorite paper planner. She was talking about all the different planners she uses and how she organizes her life. And then she said something that stopped me. She said she doesn’t worry about finishing a planner in a year and she doesn’t need it to be perfect. She just uses whichever one works for her that day. She confirmed what I had been feeling. There was something so freeing in that.  So honest. So very real.

And immediately, I thought about how often I use to approach my time with Jesus in the exact opposite way. I created all of these expectations:

“I need to do it this way.”

“It should look like this.”

“I have to be consistent, or it doesn’t count.”

And without even realizing it, something that was meant to be life-giving started to feel like pressure. Until Jesus just gave me two words. With Him. What if time with Jesus didn’t have to be perfect?  What if it didn’t have to look the same every day?  What if it didn’t even have to be long? What if it could just be real? Because the truth is, making room for Jesus in an overcrowded life doesn’t always happen in big, perfectly planned blocks of time. Sometimes it happens in small, quiet moments. Gentle rhythms that change each day. Little spaces we intentionally open up for Him.

For me, it started to look different depending on the day.  Some days I’m sitting at my computer, just talking to Him before I start working or even while I’m writing. Some days it’s my big comfy chair. Some days it’s the dining room table.  Sometimes I write out Scripture.  Sometimes I light a candle. Sometimes I just sit there with my coffee or tea and whisper, “Jesus, I’m here help me.”

That’s it. No big plan. No pressure. Just… with Him. And I think that’s where something shifts. When it stops being something we have to do and becomes a place we get to go. Because when we allow it to be flexible when we follow what draws our heart toward Him in that moment, when we stop trying to make it perfect it becomes a blessing instead of a chore. It becomes something we look forward to. A place of rest.  A place of connection.  A place of quiet joy.

And this is exactly what the 30 Day Journey of Hope to the Resurrection is meant to be.  Not another thing to complete.  Not something to do perfectly.  Not something to check off. But an invitation.  To walk with Him.  To sit with Him.  To notice Him in the middle of your real often busy life. I want to encourage you to allow it to be whatever works for you, some days that might look like reading a full devotional.  Other days, it might just be one line that stays with you.  Some days, it might be sitting quietly for a few minutes.  Other days, it might be reading while your coffee is still warm and your house is still quiet. It can look however you want it to and it doesn’t have to be the same every day.  And it doesn’t have to be finished to matter. Because this journey was never about just getting to the end.  It’s about being with Him along the way in all the small moments.

Moments With Him

Today, don’t try to do it “right.”  Just make a small space.  A few minutes.  A quieting of your mind. And breathe. A simple turning of your heart toward Him.

Maybe open your 30 Day Journey and read just a few lines.  Maybe sit with one thought. Maybe just whisper, “Jesus, be with me.”   And let that be enough.  Because He is already there…waiting for you in all your small moments.

With Him,

Maria