Last weekend I volunteered at James Madison University for the CHOICES program. CHOICES is an open house for students who have been admitted to JMU. Some have already decided to attend JMU, others are still considering options. It’s a great day of presentations about majors, financial aid, scholarships. It includes tours of the Honors College, ROTC, and the awesome University Recreation Center (UREC). Students tour campus and residence halls and have a chance to enjoy JMU’s nationally recognized dining options.
As I shuttled between assignments, walking on this beautiful campus that I love so much, I thought about the students and families attending this event. Especially the ones trying to determine if JMU will be their home for this important next chapter. I prayed God’s wisdom and clarity over them; and peace for their parents – some who are sending their first (or only) child away to college.
And I thought about my life. The choices I’ve made. Some good. Some not so good. Some really bad. Some made before I became a Christian at 24. And the majority made since. Some I’m proud of. Some I regret. Some choices were well thought out. Too many the result of desires or wants without considering consequences.
Various internet sources estimate that adults make about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions every day. Children make about 3,000 (Sahakian ^amp; Labuzetta, 2013). We make 226.7 decisions each day just about food according to researchers at Cornell University (Wansink and Sobal, 2007). As our level of responsibility increases, so do the choices we must make.
Some of the choices are minor, almost forgotten like how much creamer to put in my coffee. Some more important, like what to wear or when to merge into traffic. And others are significant – life choices, career choices, parenting decisions. Too often, I think our decisions are more like habits; things we just do because we’ve always done them. Maybe it’s because it is what we’ve been taught by friends, family, or worldly influences. When we approach our decisions from that perspective, we risk choices that harm rather than help us to be the people God created us to be.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 reminds us that while we may make 35,000 choices every day, we need only make one critical choice: to accept Jesus Christ and life over death. “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings, and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may liv and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
As we get older, we face more choices. But that isn’t an excuse to deviate from trusting the One who made the life-giving choice to die for you and me at Calvary. God gave us free will, but His desire was that we would partner with Him as we navigate this gift of life. That we would look to Him for direction. For answers. For protection from ourselves. The worst decisions of my life were made apart from God. Even as a Christian, when I chose what I wanted over what God wanted, there was a price. Sometimes it cost me emotionally. Sometimes it cost me financially. Sometimes it cost me physically. Always it cost me spiritually. And what I will never know is what I missed out on because I chose my way over His way. What blessings were set aside because I didn’t ask Him to show me the right path that I should walk, to lead me by His Truth and teach me. To put my trust in Him all day long to save me. (Psalm: 25:4-5)
It is estimated that children make 3000 decisions a day. They trust in those who know more to help them navigate the challenges of growing up. They are unincumbered by the pressures of making the right choice because they rely on those who love them and protect them. They may not always like the direction they receive, but there is safety in knowing they have a hand to hold.
Perhaps if we approached our daily walk with Jesus more like children, we would find more joy. We would experience greater blessings. We would remove self-imposed obstacles that veer us off course. We would be drawn to the one true Light of the World, rather than shiny objects and hollow promises.
Life is full of choices. As I grow in my faith, I am certain of one thing. Every decision, opportunity, and blessing originates from one choice: accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. After that, the only real choice I need to make is to take His hand and walk the path He has chosen for me.
The rest is just creamer in the coffee.