More Than One Good Choice

Hope y’all are having a blessed Memorial Day weekend. The weather has been beautiful and I’ve done just what I said I would – played all weekend with my friend. We’ve enjoyed walks, a short bike ride, one picnic, and taken a couple of beautiful scenic drives.

On our excursions, I saw folks cycling, sailing, walking, hiking, mowing their lawns, sitting out on their porches, barbecuing, washing their cars, sun bathing at the lake, fishing, boating, gardening, roller blading, playing badminton and basketball.

So many wonderful ways to spend a beautiful day here in the Northwest.

And that got me thinking. There’s not just one great way to spend a day, nor a month, nor a life. There’s not only one right job, or mate, or place to live. God’s more creative than that. Different seasons offer their unique opportunities and challenges. Sometimes we have choices that are polar opposite, but either could be just as great. You can’t be married and single at the same time, but both are good. You can’t live in the country and the city at the same time but still both have their advantages. Maybe that’s why Neapolitan ice cream was created. So you would have one less choice in life to make.

There’s been times in my life where my friends are out doing something fun. I would love to join them but I’m off doing something else that was fun. Later when I catch up with them, they’ll say, “You should have been there. You really missed something great. We had so much fun.” “I had fun, too,” I’ll tell them. “Wish I could have been in two places at once, but obviously couldn’t.:

I love hearing how God blesses people in so many different ways in the course of a day.

It is good to desire to make the most of our days. Spend them wisely because we never know how many we’ll have. I love it when God gives me some time to play, especially on a sunny 80-degree-day. Today it will be just as pretty as it’s been all weekend, but I can’t play all of today. Have some things I must do inside. Boring things. But they need to be done, and that’s life, too.

In the middle of it all, the Lord reminds me to rest in Him. I don’t want to be spending a ton of energy trying to decide whether I’m making the best choice every moment. I want to take God’s Word at face value. “Walk by the Spirit and you won’t carry out the desire of the flesh,” Paul instructs in Galatians. That is, I won’t be so inclined to yield to those temptations to sin when I’ve saturated my heart and mind with His Word. Helps me to think the way God thinks. And if I draw near to God, He promises to draw near to me. Amazing.

But then there’s a broader application as well. Walk by the Spirit and I’ll be a little more balanced in choosing between many good things, honorable things. Things where God has given His blessing but I still can’t do them all in one day.

So as for me today, I plan on taking a nice long walk and a bike ride. But I’ll also do some work for my clients, and scrub my kitchen floor . . . maybe. No, probably won’t do that.

Blessings all. And to those of you who have ever served in our U.S. Military, to you who have lost a loved one in the military, and to you who presently have a loved one serving in the military, please accept my heartfelt gratitude. Thank you.

May God bless you richly today whatever you’re up to.

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.”
(Isaiah 30:15)