Less is more. We hear that phrase a lot, but the truth of it came home to me this year through my vegetable garden when I noticed my more productive plantings were the ones that were less crowded. I have this bad tendency to try to cram too many plants into too small of an area, but for whatever reason I had one bed where I had some extra room. And sure enough, it is the one bed that has really produced.

Now let me ask you something. What have been the most productive spiritual times of your life? Were they seasons when there was a ton of activity or seasons where things had been stripped down to the essentials? I know for me it has been the latter—Covid being one such season—and that is causing me to do some evaluation. This Fall, I’m having to look at all the things I’m doing and having to evaluate what is essential and what, however good, is just crowding out the growth around those essential things.

I’d like to encourage all of us to do some similar evaluations and then think twice about overloading our schedules going forward. Less really can be more in our spiritual lives.