Removing The Cruft From Our Lives

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols” 1 John 5:21

    In technical jargon the word “cruft” means useless or unnecessary clutter, or something outdated or non-essential. Those living with illness and disability cannot afford useless cruft cluttering up their lives or draining their precious energy or resources.

    Sometimes I go through my computers or tablets and remove unused applications that needlessly take up space. Applications that are robbing the computer of energy or resources better used where it is needed.

    In a similar way there may be activities, events, or certain jobs that we get involved with that we can no longer invest ourselves into because of our illness or continued disability.

    In certain instances we have to make hard choices between what we can afford to spend our precious energy on and what simply costs us more than we can spend. Activities depleting us physically, mentally, or emotionally that must be set aside.

    There are activities we know are harmful to us in some way. Perhaps they depress us or rob us of spiritual energy. There are idols we can no longer afford to bow down to with our time, effort, and limited energy.

    It may be that we should spend what little energy we have on fulfilling God pleasing activities that not only feed our spirit, but lifts the spirit of others as well. Illness and disability can force us into hard choices.

    But the right choice is always to remove the useless cruft and clutter from our lives. By doing so we can focus on accomplishing positive things for ourselves and those around us. By removing the energy-draining useless activities and items, we can send that effort instead into fruit-bearing actions.

    Consider the energy-draining activities in your life and ask yourself what is useful and what is useless to you as someone living with illness. Beware the danger of allowing cruft to steal your precious energy and talents that could be better used elsewhere.

    Prayer: Dear Lord, how often we waste our precious time and energy. Help us to remove the useless and focus instead on useful endeavors. Amen.