Listen to Your Editor-in-Chief

Guidance for what to keep and what to discard in your life

A great journalist once shared his best piece of writing advice.  "You can always measure the quality of a piece of writing," he said, "by the quality of what you cut."

"No matter how much you love a phrase or sentence you wrote, or how hard you worked to land some key fact, remember that the piece may be sharper and more powerful without it."

In other words, don't be afraid to eliminate something—even if it is interesting, even if it is beautifully written, even if you absolutely love it—when it doesn't serve your larger purpose.

This piece of wisdom applies to more than just writing. It works in life as well.

Too often we cling to habits or processes or memories. We refuse to let something go even if it no longer serves us.

If we think of our life as a book, these are the pages we once wrote, but they no longer fit the story we are telling. We don't need to leave them in.

We can cut some of them out. We can edit them. We can rearrange them to reflect where we have learned and grown.

Imagine your home. If you have kids, think about when they were younger. You likely had certain types of furniture or safety rails or backyard items.

As your children grew, you rearranged them or threw some of them. They didn't fit anymore.

And now perhaps you have grandchildren, so you make further adjustments. You may move to a smaller house or apartment, even if you love your old home.

You edit your life to fit your story. It's not always easy. But here's the good news: You don't have to do this alone.

God is our "Editor-in-Chief," and we are part of God's story.

Now God tends to be a more "laissez-faire" editor, giving us free will to decide what to write on the pages of our lives.

But God is always there for conversation and consultation. And God left us a great guidebook called the Bible. Its lessons make our writing shine with truth and beauty.

What will you write next?