Lauren van Vliet, author

It sounds like the name of a children’s book, but it’s actually my calendar. Even before Google Calendar, my wall calendar and agenda were colour coded. The code has changed little over the years. Green was for school, now it’s for writing. Red was work, and now ministry events. Blue is for family and friends. Gray or black is for anything else.

I love the colour code because it lets me know when things get out of balance. Usually that means there’s too much red, and not enough of any other colour. And too much red is usually a bad thing.

Perhaps ‘bad’ is a strong word. Lots of red means my ministries are busy, but busy isn’t always bad. A busy month or season can be prepared for, and they will end. Busy seasons are opportunities to invite other people to be involved. By using their gifts and skills, people can become part of the community in new and different ways.

But busy seasons pose a challenge. If the busy season doesn’t end, or there isn’t enough recovery time between seasons, exhaustion and stress lead to burn out. While I’m in the season, I want to balance out the red. I want to add more activities in blue, green, and even gray, just so that the red isn’t overwhelming anymore. But even this desire for balanced colours needs moderation

Scheduling a bunch of activities for the sake of balancing out the red only creates a busier season, resulting in more stress. But adding a few high quality activities that are particularly restorative – like a hike with my family, a board game night with friends, or trying new (but small) writing projects – doesn’t feel so overwhelming. They may not balance the red on the calendar, but their quality far surpasses that of a balanced number.