Thoughts Under the Tin Roof

Clearing the Clutter

The rain was falling again this morning.

After spending some time talking with the Lord, I remembered I still needed to finish setting up my workstation and clean off my desk.

It’s amazing how much a cluttered desk can affect your day.

When everything is scattered, it’s harder to find what you need. The mess catches your eye every time you sit down. You put things off because you know you should clean it first. Before long, the clutter becomes a distraction from the work you were supposed to be doing.

As I began picking things up, another thought came to mind.

Our Christian lives can become cluttered too.

Not always with sinful things.

Sometimes it’s just too many good things competing for our attention.

A busy schedule.

Endless notifications.

Entertainment.

Hobbies.

Work.

Responsibilities.

None of those are necessarily wrong. In fact, Ecclesiastes reminds us that God gives us good gifts to enjoy.

The danger isn’t enjoying God’s blessings.

The danger is allowing those blessings—or the busyness of life—to slowly pull our eyes away from Christ.

It’s usually not one big decision that causes us to drift.

It’s the little distractions that quietly pile up until we realize we haven’t spent much time with the Lord lately.

Jesus told Martha,

“Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful…” (Luke 10:41–42, KJV)



Martha wasn’t distracted by evil.

She was distracted by everything except the One who mattered most in that moment.

Maybe our hearts need the same attention our desks sometimes do.

Not because everything on them is bad…

But because too much clutter makes it harder to focus on what matters most.

As the rain continues to fall outside my porch this morning, I’m reminded that sometimes God invites us to slow down, clear away the distractions, and simply sit with Him.

Maybe that’s the most important thing on today’s to-do list.

Until the rain falls again…

Grace and peace,

A Porch Believer