I’ve have an acute awareness of the authority I’ve been given to choose and I’m thankful for the gift of free will. I have been making choices that affect me and my life for a long time.
I chose where to go to college.
I chose where to live after I graduated college.
I chose to accept the job that was my home for seven years.
I chose to move into the house with the girls from church I barely knew.
I chose to go on the World Race.
I chose which clothes were going to be with me for 11 months.
I chose to hop on the 21 person bus-van thing to come to town to access wifi on my rest day.
When making choices, the best idea is to bring God into the equation early on in the decision process. If I’m being honest, I sometimes forget that part of the process. I’m thankful for all of the choices listed above.
Being on the Race, I’ve realized that my daily choices primarily revolve around my attitude. At our ministry site in Albania, there are many choices that I don’t get to make but I get to choose how I respond.
Am I going to choose scoop poop with a joyful heart?
Am I going to choose to enjoy the same breakfast (a hard boiled egg, a piece of goat cheese and a piece of bread with butter and jam) that we’ve had for the last five mornings?
Am I going to choose to happily continue to pick up leaves that I found a snake resting under?
This morning before getting out of bed I was thinking about my attitude and what it would be like to actively choose to walking in an attitude of praise all day. That sounds like a good idea, right? I can praise the Lord for the warm blanket I snuggled under, for the time of worship with my squad, for the time to color in my awesome coloring book and for an opportunity to spend some time away from the farm sitting in a beautiful restaurant that’s overlooking the city of Lezhe.
But as I sit in this beautiful place I had to check myself. I realized that I definitely was not choosing an attitude of praise. I was sitting here in an attitude of jealousy because all of my other squadmates in the restaurant were able to connect to wifi and I couldn’t.
Whaaaat?! Where’s God in that equation? Where’s the praise?
Yes, it would be nice to talk to my family even though I know they’re still sleeping. (A 9-hour time difference is no joke.) Sure, catching up on Facebook and emails would be nice, too, but are those things worth more than an attitude of praise and choosing to honor God with my thoughts and actions? Definitely not.
So, if I’m able to post this blog before the bus-van thing comes back to pick us up or if the wifi actually let’s me connect, I choose to remember that God is the most important part of all equations, whether it’s asking Him for guidance on making a decision or choosing an attitude that glorifies Him.
So now I choose to enjoy this view. Praise the Lord for Albania.
