Choice

     Today was a beautiful day. It was rainy and cold and cloudy but somehow everything was alive. Since it was a Saturday, I'm usually working but I had off so I was on my own schedule. The night before, I told myself I was going to read 5 chapters of the Bible every hour till dinner. If I have a goal like that the night before...I (usually) end up doing it. I could choose to lie around but what a waste of a day! I choose to delve into learning and whoa I just learned again today: God is good. Reading through Leviticus than Numbers, I'm so thankful for Jesus. So glad we don't have to memorize those laws or be unclean constantly.

     The nice thing about going over the Bible in a huge chunk is that you see the repetition. I noticed that whenever the Israelites came to Moses with a question, he always inquired of God FIRST. God is always with us so we can follow Moses' example of always looking to God first. Often we don't do and when that happens, things can go wrong fast. It's good to be in prayer about certain things you're unsure of. If you don't know, God has an answer! You choose in the end, but God allows certain people/events to come into your life to sway you in the direction He has for you. The big word is CHOICE. God gave us free will. Time and time again the Israelites complain and time and time again they are struck down. Will they ever learn? we think. The Israelites in the wilderness is only a tiny picture of the whole story of God's love and faithfulness. And the coolest thing ever is that we copy that story with our own creative stories. The Bible is a model for the shortened format of struggle/climax/resolution.

     I love stories. I love to hear people's stories about how they came to know God (testimonies). I love my mom telling funny stories of the past. I love fantasy books that pull you into a whole new world of possibilities. I've tried to write my own books but they usually don't have an ending. I have too many ideas! I'm in awe that God picked one overarching story for us of the fall, a Saviour, and hope and then is weaving all our stories together throughout generations with the messy word of choice mixed into there. To choose between right and wrong.

The story of today was one little droplet to add to my own life of stories. I went for a walk. Mom had told me of a place in our marsh that was clear enough to ice skate. It's supposed to be cold next week? We'll see. Anyway, God gave me so many birds on my walk. What I mean by that - they were everywhere! I delighted in their calls and the ability to name them. I saw a kingfisher, red tailed hawk, towhee, scrub jay, stellar jay, chickadees, song sparrow, nuthatches, and a downy woodpecker. I made the choice to walk in the rain and cold. I didn't like my choice at first. But through Mom's nudging and my knowing once-I-get-out-there-I-love-it, I chose to go. Think of all the sights I would have missed. My ears hurt afterward from the wind but it was worth it. Birds now and ice skating in the future. Hope.

" Consequences are bound to the choices you make. You can have your choice but you cannot choose the consequences." -Ravi Zacharias