Choices

Today is my Mom's birthday--so happy birthday Mom. You have been an awesome example of patience, love, giving, and believing the best about everyone.
This got me thinking about the choices we make. We make tons of them everyday. Some big other not so much so. Every choice is significant though.
As Robert Frost said when talking about choosing between 2 paths, "Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back."
Each choice leads to a path that opens things ahead but also closes things behind.
Perhaps the analogy falls a little short in that you can always backtrack a path--but you can never unspeak a word, you can never take back a reaction, you can never regain time lost.
How do we choose to use our words?
How do we act and react to other people?
What do we do to demonstrate love, kindness, and compassion?
How quick are we to forgive and move on?

The bible tells us that life and death are set out in front of us and we have a choice to make. The ultimate choice of what to do with Jesus--radical savior or total failure. We are advised to choose life and that life is only found in Jesus--the way, the truth, and the life--not a God but the God.
I would say it implies something even a step farther whenever you look at it in the light of what James talks about. That every minute of everyday we have the choice between life and death. We are constantly choosing life or death by the words we use and the things we do.
A choice to live a life of anger and unforgiveness and hold ourselves back from having the very best relationship with God--to tear down, humiliate, and belittle people that are not us--to be too busy to care even a little bit about someone else, someone who's hurting or unsure or who's lost their way----this path is well-worn and leads to a sheltered, shattered, ragtag existence full of regret and anguish. What could have been?
Or we can choose to live a life of love and compassion. Encouraging, inspiring, and comforting with words of faith and love. Giving of ourselves, our kindness, our time, our sweat, our life to be a help to someone in need. This path is less travelled and leads to other paths of mercy and forgiveness and blessing. This is the path of Jesus. This is the path where we take up our cross--to say what we hear the Father say and do we we see the Father do--we get this from what Jesus said and did.
This is the narrow way--these are the paths of righteousness. This is the higher way--love for one another.

Consider what you do and how you do it as way leads on to way in your life. Choose wisely each day which path to walk. Don't waste time on the wrong path.
Every choice matters.
Make yours.
Keep the first thing first.
PJ