As I cleaned my hard drive, recovering some space, I was reminded of how quickly stuff accumulates! What should I keep, and what could I eliminate? I tried the clothing rule: “If you haven’t worn it for a year, get rid of it.” If I hadn’t accessed the file in a year, it was deleted. Many others were deleted, too. Except photos. I was more selective with photos, but I still got most of them off the computer and onto an external hard drive.

Just as I expected, my computer – with the recovered space – ran more quickly. It shed the weight of pounds holding it back from running at (almost) full speed. It was like an old dog who woke up and felt a crispness in the air, transforming him into a puppy. And he ran around the yard leaping and rolling in the grass.

Ah, the freedom!

What if your hard drive was cleaned? What if you recovered space? What would you do?

Go ahead. Think about it.

Are you considering how you’d fill the space? How you’d use the time to do some things that have taken a back burner?

What if you actually recover the space…not so you can immediately fill it again but so you can be more effective with what remains? What if you keep the essentials but delete everything else, allowing the essentials to even out across the time you have? What if the recovered space helps you run more smoothly and less labored?

Of course, I’m not suggesting taking a couple things out of your schedule will magically make everything in life run smoothly, but there’s a lot in our lives that’s not essential.

We recently took a box of books to the library. They were books we didn’t want or need, and we thought someone else could use them. Plus, we thought it would be a convenient way to free up some bookcase shelf space, which is precious in our house. But I later began to think: What if I got rid of every book except for one(s) I need? What if I did the same with clothes? What about my kitchen cabinets?

Need I continue?

What if I did the same with my to do list, my schedule…my thoughts?

I think I do a fairly good job at prioritizing. I feel my life is pretty well-balanced. But I’m realizing…there’s more space to be recovered.

Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light. Matthew 11:29-30