Just a simple, everyday decision

How one choice left an everlasting impact

I was painting a room the other day and began reflecting on choices. Almost a year ago I made a decision regarding a paint color. One paint color for one room in one building. But little did I know that choice would be so much more than one room. One room. That’s all it was meant to be. But it multiplied. Another room. Then another. Then a new building. A whole wing. It just keeps multiplying. Now that decision on a simple paint color has turned into a choice that may live on well past my time there. It wasn’t a particularly important decision, but it will be seen by hundreds, maybe thousands of people. But it got me thinking. Something so insignificant took on a life of its own. A simple, every day decision. A choice between this or that.

And isn't that how some of our choices can be? Far reaching even more than we planned? More than we expected? Coming back to us time and again…

The simplest things have such far-reaching results. Our choices can ripple out like a pebble tossed into a lake. A choice to be kind to one person can affect so many more people, rippling out farther than you could have ever expected.

But what about bigger choices? More significant choices that we make?

After the birth of my second child, I really needed a way to lose that baby weight. I knew I needed someone to help me stay focused and accountable. I thought of a friend from high school that I had recently reconnected with on Facebook. She was always posting about her running and working outs. I kept thinking about her. Maybe I should reach out to her? Maybe she could help me? Before I decided on anything, she posted that she was starting a running group for all levels of fitness. It seemed perfect, dare I say “meant to be?” I joined with the intention of losing weight. What I didn’t realize at that time was that I was searching for something I didn’t know I needed. I had a hole in me and nothing could fill it. I was empty. I was depressed. I was frustrated.

See, it wasn’t just a running group. It was a Christian running group. LEGGs. Ladies Empowered by God’s Grace. We started every run with a quick devotional and prayer. At that time, I did not have God in my life. Hadn’t since I was a child. And what I did know of God was full of rituals and rules. This, this was different. I started to hear about God in a whole new light. It stirred something in me. Seeds were planted. The running eventually stopped but the seeds had begun to grow.

A year or so later, things were very difficult financially. Neither my husband nor I were working. We had two little kids. It was summer. They wanted to do things. We couldn’t afford anything. As I was driving one day, I made a choice to turn right instead of left. I drove by a church having a free event. We decided to check it out. It was a block party for the community full of games, prizes, and food. And yes, everything truly was free. It was such a blessing for us to be able to let our kids have fun in a carnival-like setting and not have to say the dreaded “no” to them. YES! They could go on the water slide. YES! They could have cotton candy. YES! They could play games.

The next day, I decided to check out this church. It was a Sunday morning so I did what people do….I went to church with my daughter. Something stirred in me. Something new. I went home and told my husband what I thought. The next Sunday, we went as a family and have made the same choice every Sunday since.

It gets better. After I started attending the church, I made the choice to serve. I started helping in the kids' church. After a few years, I was blessed to be hired as the coordinator for the kids’ program. Each Sunday I work with dozens of kids, teaching them, leading them, and praying for them. I’ve been blessed to have worked with well over a few hundred kids and families in my time serving God. I’ve been able to be involved in bible studies and devotionals. I’ve been blessed to write these words for whoever to read.

All because I made the choice to run. All because a woman made the choice to help others run.

Think about your choice to follow Jesus. Think back to your life at that moment. To the person you were. Think about who you've become. The choice to believe. The choice to have hope. The choice to live for someone other than yourself. Think about the people that you have impacted with that choice.

It’s choices, big and small, choices that we make every day. Who knows where they will actually lead? But I promise you, even the smallest choice will impact someone.

So, how do you make all of these choices?

Pray.

That’s it. Pray. God will help you make them. He has a plan for you and He will guide your steps. Invite the Holy Spirit in and listen to Him. Even those little choices, those little decisions will be guided by Him.

Keep finding the light....