Reflections:The unbeatable choice

                       

One of the main reasons we're here in the first place, from the Garden of Eden to the present, is to learn how to make decisions under God's guidance. All of life is that way. We must constantly make decisions and choices. If we know and love and want to please Him and do what's right, this causes us to seek Him in prayer and ask Him for the answers. It makes us dependent on Him as we try to make the right decisions so we'll go the right direction.

God always knows what's best and chooses only what's best for you--the unbeatable choice. So don't make the mistake of telling Him what to do or how to do it. Learn to get His answers, and you will find that His program is best. ---David Brandt Berg


 

By Bonita Hele

It was vacation time, and my husband and I were driving with another family to a beach resort 16 hours from home. We started before the sun was up, but by noon we were still only about halfway. We couldn't use the aircon because the car had had a recent engine overhaul, and it was getting hot. The long car ride was starting to wear on the other couple's three young sons, so we decided it was time for a break.

We found a roadside restaurant and bought a round of coffee for us adults and ice cream for the kids. Jerry, the youngest, had just turned three. He was eager to pick his own ice cream, and decided on vanilla on a stick, dipped in chocolate.

"He's going to make a mess," one of his parents cautioned.

"It's okay," said the other. "This is the one he wanted. Let him enjoy it."

With great interest we watched the race between Jerry and the heat. Jerry clutched his ice cream with both hands, trying his best to eat it before it melted. The chocolate covering kept up a strong pretense, but the vanilla ice cream slowly dripped down Jerry's arms and onto a strategically placed plate. The more it dripped, the tighter Jerry held it. Finally, the chocolate shell couldn't withstand the pressure and imploded, leaving a mound of melted goop and a little boy distraught at his loss. His mother picked him up, wiped away his tears, and cleaned up the mess. Then she ordered another ice cream for him--this time in a bowl and with a spoon. A wiser choice, we all agreed.

As we continued our drive and I thought about what had just taken place, the event took on new significance. How many times have I had my mind set on something that I was sure was good for me, some dream or desire? My entire focus was on that one thing. I could picture my guardian angel telling God, "Don't give it to her. She'll make a mess," and God replying, "Let her make her own decision. She's old enough." Then when I later find myself holding a mound of melted dreams that I'd held too tightly to, He picks me up, wipes away my tears, and gives me something else that He knew all along would have been better for me, but which, in my intense focus, I hadn't given a second thought to. I finally take what He has to offer, and I "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). After all, having created me and all good things, He would know best what I need, wouldn't He?

So, which will it be--the stick or the bowl? Next time I'll let Him decide.