“I call heaven and earth as witnesses
today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”—Deuteronomy
30:19
Every year just before school began,
my mother would take my sister and me shopping.
One particular year we got up very early to drive 72 miles to the
nearest city with a number of department stores to do our shopping. We were very excited to be getting to this
particular clothing store just after it opened because it was advertised to be
the biggest and best sale of the whole year.
Nothing that we had ever experienced before could have prepared us for
what awaited us that day. The store was
crowded with people even though it was early.
We moved through the crowd seeking our clothing sizes among the tables
and racks of clothes. Women were grabbing
everything in sight; if someone laid an item down, it was snatched up by
another woman. We finally found some
things to try on; but, the changing rooms at the back of the store were
taken. Women began to move towards a
large storage room and use it for a changing room so, we followed the
crowd. Although to some people, what
appeared to be chaos made for the excitement of the day among the women
shoppers. A lone elderly man ventured
into the storage room looking for his wife and was immediately met with high
pitched screams of women yelling, “There is a man in here.” The elderly man’s face turned a scarlet red
as he hastily turned around and made an exit from the store. During all of this chaos, my sister decided
to look for something different. Mother
told her to just wear the store’s dress and carry her dress as we looked for a
different one. While looking for another
dress, my sister laid her dress down which was immediately snatched up by a woman. When my sister noticed that the woman had her
dress, she had a very difficult time convincing the woman that she had made a wrong choice, and that my sister’s
dress was not one for sale. Needless to
say, not long after this incident we paid for our purchases and left the store.
Just as we did on every shopping trip, upon
arriving home, my sister and I paraded our choices before our father. He gave the proper oohs and ahhs, and assured
us that we had chosen wisely.
Everyday we are confronted with
choices. God created each of us to make our own distinctive
mark on the world. The decisions that we
make everyday are comprised of the choices that we make. The choices we make today effect our
tomorrows. When the choices we make are
based in the Word of God we are assured of God’s Best. “Blessed
is the man [woman] who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in
the path of the sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his [her]
delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he [she] meditates day and
night. He [she] shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season,
whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he [she] does shall prosper”
(Psalm 1:1-3).
Prayer—Father
thank you that with your help I will chose to do those things that are pleasing
in your sight, and that I am blessed with your favor and receive your best, in
Jesus Name. Amen.
