I recently finished a book, Essentialism, by Greg McKeown. The main concept of the book is the importance of living a life that really matters by embracing what is essential – knowing who you are and what you were made to do – your gift to the world - and guiltlessly saying “no” to others' non-essential requests. It’s not so easy in the real world.

The concept that Essentialism proffers brings me to a certain sad revelation about the context of my life, the work I am called and gifted to do, and how I must navigate the cultural and work environments of my life if I am to remain spiritually alive and flexible in spirit. I know that a drive to be authentically and powerfully the son of my Father and fully alive, is the nuclear core of my life but that is not enough. I must also allow myself to be trained to live, as Jesus lived, doing, and saying only what my Father is doing and saying. Perhaps the lens of defining what is essential and eliminating more of the non-essential is another weapon to help me live out, with passion, my life in Christ. I intend to take the journey.

There is a wisdom to be applied in remodeling one’s life. Stories of remodeling work that end up catching the building on fire or dropping people from roofs come across our paths. In my early days of residential work, I can still remember times when I scampered to put out a fire or prevent a collapse or pick myself up off the ground because I was moving too fast or not considering the environment of my immediate actions. No sense in doing that again. Especially in the context of spiritual family.

I guess the bottom line is to know what the main thing is. Why am I constructed like I am? What is the main thing that, if I were to do it faithfully, would give me that “my yoke is easy, and my burden light” experience that releases confident joy and that ability to dance in the rain? A life not constrained to only endure but to express the power purchased by the victory of Jesus.

These are some of my essentials…to know my Father more intimately, to love myself more honestly, to celebrate what I bring to life, and to enjoy the sound of all the dropping non-essentials and celebrate them as victories.

—George Davis