The Road Not Taken: Commitment

I was driving home tonight, and there were two different ways to get home. One is highway driving so I could drive faster but it is longer in distance; the other is more backroads that require slower driving but are slightly more direct. Both ways have advantages and disadvantages; I had to make a choice.

The thing that is interesting about this kind of choice is that it doesn't involve morality. There is no "right" or "wrong" in the choice, because there is no clear advantage to one way versus the other. In a situation like this, the morality lies in the way you handle your choice. It demands commitment, perseverance, and strength.

I made my choice to start driving down what I will call Route A, and I stuck with it. I didn't test-drive Route A, then get caught up in the thoughts of doubt. "I wonder if Route B would have been faster. The traffic is thick tonight. And that other way, it would get me home eventually, maybe even faster - maybe I should try it." How unwise to turn around, retracing steps and wasting time as I tried to go back to where I'd already been! And then, who knows? Maybe Route B had an unforseen detour, which wastes yet more time, energy, and resources.

If I was that concerned about the speed and efficiency of the route in making the decision between routes A and B, I should not have allowed doubt to come in and plague me. If doubt could not be staved off then I should have pulled over, collected my wits, prayed, and worked my way through it. The best thing I could have done if that doubt prevailed would have been to simply drive faster and more efficiently when possible; to give it my best effort to get home, trusting that I was headed in the right direction and that there was purpose in that.

While it's true that God doesn't waste anything, we humans sure can waste a LOT. Sometimes we waste it when we back-track on decisions we make without simply pausing to ask God for help or working through the situation with the utmost of integrity. It was vital to me to get home (obviously, to blog), so by working through this seemingly insignificant decision, I got home safely, quickly, and happily.

When the time comes for you to make your next decision - where are you headed? Are you committed to making it there without waste?

tag along.

Gilmore tagged me, so I am supposed to list 10 things about myself.

1. I am fairly well addicted to blogging & Craigslist. And I've never even made a transaction.

2. I really, really wish I had a Hasselblad H3DII-39. And knew how to really work it.

3. I love Jesus Christ, hands down.

4. I'm in love with FDB3.

5. I feel victorious when I win at Jeopardy.

6. I would visit all the world's finest art museums 24 hours a day if I could. Well, maybe just 12 hours a day.

7. I check various blogs way too many times a day.

8. I've been trying to finish a book I started back in January, and to be more humble. It appears I am a humble reader, so that is a good start.

9. Aside from the goals I've already reached in my life, I want to finish up on the goals I posted about earlier this year. I've made good on 3 of the 5 already!

10. I really love those strange moments of inexplicable mania, when one is filled with thought, emotion, and creative spirit. I'm talking about those sometimes overwhelming urges to write/draw/paint/compose/create.

I now tag Emily and Meghann.

Photobooth Fun

If You've Read This Far, You're Obligated

You, the reader of this blog, are stuck. You cannot turn back, and you cannot turn away. You are reading my words and the further you go, the farther it is from where you feel that you can stop or turn back. Every word you have read so far has influenced you and have created a conscious decision to go forward, to read on, to finish the blog. Perhaps you started reading this portion thinking that it would amount to something, and perhaps it will. I make no promises. Regardless, you're in this for the long haul.

Whether you are a first-time passer-by, a frequent visitor, a devoted reader, a comment-bearer or a silent stalker from afar, your obligation is the same.

COMMENT ON THE FOLLOWING:

What should I be when I grow up?

I've been doing a lot of thinking about this lately - probably because I've reached my quarterlife crisis (thank you, John Mayer, for coining that phrase for me). Anyway, leave me note of some sort that speaks to this topic. 

Now. 

Because you have to. 

Because I said so, and you read so.

Thirsty in Temperance

This weekend I had the privilege of visiting Bedford Christian Community Assembly of God, where I attended a "Dwell" worship service. Dwell is a time set aside by the church to worship Jesus in song, prayer, and reflection, it is a time to dwell in the presence of the Lord. The church was set up just enough to offer a myriad of options to personally worship God, but without unnecessary distraction (except for a meddling photographer, ahem*). Several communion stations were available, a free-standing prayer wall was poised to accept the written prayers of attendants, another wall offered existing prayer requests for intercession, and the altar was open for business.

The theme of this Dwell service was "Thirsty," and I have to admit that's exactly how I came into church that night. Though I wish it weren't so, it's not often that I take time to reflect and acknowledge how desperate for God I am. It was a divine night of freedom, where I was reminded of my freedom to exist and worship God - what a supremely big deal that is!

I had a great time meeting many new people and was offered a lot of grace throughout the whole weekend - thanks be to God! And thank you, too, BCC.