Choice Points

Choice Points

T. Suzanne Eller

If the findings of a recent research study are true, I made at least five thousand decisions today. Seriously? Well, let’s consider this … I made a decision to get out of bed. I made a choice to put on my tennis shoes and run at 6:00 a.m. I chose peanut butter Cheerios^® over oatmeal. I decided which bills to pay. What to make for dinner. Whether or not to answer a phone call. Which clothes to wear. Whether the plants needed watering or if they could wait another day.

Okay, I may indeed have made more than five thousand decisions today!

Some of our everyday choices are random, others weighty, but many of our decisions are choice points. Choice points are seemingly insignificant decisions, yet they lead us in one significant direction or another. For example, I choose whether to react in anger or respond with understanding to my husband. I choose whether or not to create drama with a friend who hurt my feelings. I choose time with my heavenly Father or push that time to another day … again. I choose whether or not to say those words that cause my child pain.

Recently, I was on a mission trip and the team was exhausted after six days of demanding travel. We had missed a train and stood on the platform awaiting the next one. It was nearing midnight, cold, and wet. Our next scheduled event was early in the morning.

The coordinator walked over to me. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean for it to work out this way.”

There I stood at a choice point. I could share my frustration. I could explain that my sleep tank was on empty. I could say nothing, while sighing with a martyred expression.

As she waited for my reply, I reminded myself what a privilege it was to be there. That ease and comfort were never offered our Savior, and losing a little sleep was nothing compared to anything He went through. Everyone around me was just as tired as I was.

“I’m fine,” I said. “In fact, it’s been an amazing day and I can’t wait to see what God does tomorrow.”

She pulled me into a huge hug. “Thank you, Suz.”

I wish I could say I handle every choice point that way. Sometimes I fail. But I’m praying I’ll remember how much my choice points matter. You see, they don’t just affect me; they affect those within the vicinity of my decisions, throwing them into a choice point of their own.

In the five thousand decisions you make today, how many of them will be choice points?

Dear Lord, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by all my choices, and it makes me cranky. Today as I make my five thousand decisions, walk with me, remind me of how my choices affect others, and help me to choose wisely. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

REMEMBER

Your choice points don’t just affect you; they throw others into choice points of their own.

REFLECT

Think back over the last week. What choices have you made in your difficult moments?

RESPOND

Wait to respond to a situation when you feel more poised. Whether a minute, an hour, a day, or a week, it will be based on thinking rather than emotions.

POWER VERSES

Proverbs 16:9; Psalm 25:9