Choices that Affect Life

Sometimes it's fun to pull out old pictures and journals and reminisce about who you were once upon a time. And sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's difficult to look in the mirror of your past. Last night I pulled out my old journals and began to read. I barely remember the girl who wrote those pages, barely even remember her dreams and passions. Life has this way of taking us along whether we want to go or not, and sometimes we lose who we were.

Sometimes that is a good thing, because we learn how to be a better person. We learn that true happiness really isn't "all about me", but rather all about "who I can be." It's all about who we let God make us and how we let life shape us. A wise friend once told me it was inevitable that life would hurt me; I had no choice in getting hurt, but I could choose not to hurt others. Life is full of other choices, too.

We have to choose to love even though it means letting people in.

We have to choose to trust even though we might get hurt.

We have to choose to try even thought we might fail.

We have to choose to live even thought death is inevitable.

We have to choose to make friends even though they move in and out of our life.

We have to choose to give even if all others do is take.

We have to choose to find joy even when all we feel are tears.

We have to choose to laugh even when there's no one to hear the laughter.

We have to choose to see beauty even though it's easier to see the ashes.

We have to choose to give it all we've got ... this could be our only chance to do it!

God has entrusted each of us with a life. We are to be faithful stewards of that life, giving it to Him and loving Him. Out of that love will flow obedience, and out of that obedience will flow blessing. It's only through true yielding that anything else will even be possible. It's learning what it's all about.