I heard recently that the average person on any given day makes an estimated 35,000 choices by the time their head hits the pillow and the day is done.

35,000!

Each one comes with its own set of consequences and chain reactions that then puts into motion thoughts, feelings and actions that lead to more choices! The whole thing makes me imagine a complex art form or a matrix where all possibilities are out there somewhere just waiting to be “chosen.”

Whether it’s a venti hot americano with light cream from the drive-thru or the right medical specialist to treat a scary diagnosis, our choices really do affect every part of our days that all string together to make up our lives, and now I’m wondering why I’ve given so little thought to them?

My week has been full of choices, most of them fairly inconsequential, but some of them very significant. And being the professional overthinker that I am, I don’t always just choose and run….sometimes I spend more time than I would like to admit running through options, trying to identify all possible outcomes, weighing out the pros and cons and then hoping I’ve covered all the really important bases. And, you know what? There is usually something that pops up that I didn’t see coming, that I couldn’t have anticipated and certainly didn’t get to hand select from the daily catalogue of 35,000!

So I’ve done tonight what I’ve done so many times before when faced with choices that aren’t as clear or easy as I would like..…I’ve laid my heart bare before the maker of the universe and the maker of me, and prayed that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And in the most beautiful of ways, I find myself picturing….like a parade of truth and faithfulness, the innumerable times and ways that God has been there for me and my family, helping us to pick up the pieces when the one and only choice we had available to us….. was to choose to believe.

It is my prayer in this season of Lent, that as we allow ourselves the space to reflect and consider how we are choosing to respond to the gospel, that we also think about all of our choices – the seemingly small and the loomingly large – and invite Jesus to illuminate the way.

It matters, friends.

You matter.

Of all the ways God could have chosen to resolve the sin condition in the world, (I’m thinking ever so many more than 35,000!)….he chose Jesus.

And Jesus chose us.

Have a great day – make good choices! =)

Love,

Shellie