You may be surprised how all of your stuff is weighing on you. Karlton shares some benefits of getting rid of some of our stuff.
“John answered, ‘Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same’” (Luke 3:11).
“One of the best benefits of embracing a minimalist lifestyle is there’s less stress. You don’t have debt hanging over your head. There’s less hurry to make more money to buy the next thing coming out. Less stress leads to a more healthy lifestyle.” –Pastor Joshua Becker
This summer my wife and I have been shedding some almost thirty years of accumulated junk. It is amazing how much larger our house seems with less needless things piled around it.
I believed the hard part about removing the clutter would be letting go of things. Yet on one of our first trips to Goodwill that I realized the hard part was contemplating just how much money I had wasted over the years on the unnecessary clutter.
I think that those of us with illness clutter up our lives with many needless things. We worry too much, we stress too much, and let our imaginations get filled with fear of things that never come to pass. The corners of our minds get crowded with dread, doubt, and discouragement. We need a mental and emotional house cleaning.
We must constantly weigh the benefits of the things we bring into our lives. It is easy to spot the needless worry and fear, the programs on television, or the people around us who bring about discouragement and negativity. Yet it can be very hard to discipline ourselves away from activities or associations that clutter our lives and draw down our already limited resources. But sometimes less is more when you live with illness.
I challenge you to consider the many things in your life that are taking up your energy, your necessary resources. How much clutter can you remove to make your life with illness better?
Prayer: Dear Lord, we fill our lives with needless things, help us to instead fill ourselves with You! Amen.
About the Author:
Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. While he may never be a minimalist, he is trying to live with less, especially less mental and emotional clutter.
Are there things in your life that are robbing you of joy and happiness? Is there clutter in your life you can perhaps do without?
When I need to do a good cleaning, I put on my CD of Gwen Smith and play the song, “Uncluttered” over and over. I have shared this video in the past, but it is always a good reminder that to fully serve God we need to have a life that is uncluttered. I hope it blesses you (it may even inspire you to clean out a drawer!) -Lisa
Thank you so much for sharing this today. It’s perfect timing for me/us. And the video you shared, Uncluttered by Gwen Smith, was outstanding! What a blessing!
What a great devotional. My problem is as an artist I buy supplies and start new mediums/projects, and then if my illness prevents me from doing any of it, I belittle myself and get angry with myself.
Thanks for sharing
it is amazing how much more money is in my account for needed things I thought I couldn’t afford just from living minimally, and how uncluttered my mind is without needless things, thank you Karlton!!!!!
Thanks Ola 🙂
Sarah, yes, illness often gets in our way, but that is not something you can control, don’t beat yourself up over it.
Thanks Linda 🙂 Yes, minimalism makes sense in many ways.
Karlton, congrats to you and your wife. We’ve been trying to do much of the same, S-L-O-W-L-Y. To me, it seems harder to part with things when ill because if you are unable to get out and “do things”, it feels that much more important to be “surrounded by things.” Also, if money is tight, it’s hard not to think, “What if this would be useful later?” However, I agree with you that freeing ourselves of unnecessary “stuff”, physical and emotional, is worth it. I hope you will both be feeling much more peaceful in your hone this Christmas than any of the 30 years prior!
Sarah, less clutter makes a big difference. “Just in case” is an evil phrase lol! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to fight past that phrase to get rid of stuff. I think you appreciate more what you have left when there is less of it–if that makes any sense 🙂
Karlton, yes, it DOES make sense and I’m glad I’m not the only one fighting with that evil phrase! I have often almost longed to live like a nun — simple bed, table, lamp, Bible and a few other books. It sounds like a better life in many ways and yet when it comes down to it, I think it’s hard for many of us to truly live minimally. We had to get rid of a lot of “stuff” during our mold remediation that was not worth saving and it was actually almost liberating at times to KNOW it was better to get rid of than try to hang onto. Now if only someone could clear out all our paper…working our way there. 🙂
“home” not “hone”
Thanks Karlton. 🙂 Funny timing! Just this afternoon talking of this with eldest son, minutes before opening your devotional! Like a neon sign from God! Lotsoluv Kerryn
Kerryn, it is a lot of work when you start digging through stuff, and there is always more of it than you think 🙂 But freedom from clutter is a great feeling. Yet I think letting go of the mental and emotional clutter can be just as difficult, if not more so.
Karlton, the day your devotional was posted was the day I came home from the hospital after a recent back injury. I didn’t read it till today because I thought it wouldt just make me feel guilty. It was almost impossible to do much in the way of paring down physical stuff before this happened. But I’m glad I read it just now.
Clutter, as you said, can take many forms, and so much of the time my mind and emotions are filled up with fears and worries. As well as negative intake. I am asking the Lord to give me His strength, wisdom and grace so that I’ll nip these thoughts in the bud.
What a waste of time and energy worrying and fretting about the “what if’s” are!! Far better to be feeding ourselves the Word and giving praise and thanks to Him.
Kudos to you and your wife for tackling the physical clutter in your home!!
Well said Beth 🙂
Praying for your quick recovery.
Thanks!
testing comments
I just came across this devotioinal. It’s so interesting how you mentioned the clutter but also how our minds can get filled with emotional clutter. I know I am dealing with some of that. Yes, it is very hard to do the work to clear the physical clutter. But I think you’re right that it might be much harder to rid ourselves of the emotional clutter. Thanks, it’s so great to know that I am not alone in what I am dealing with.