Make positive choices

“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction … Now Choose life.”

— Deuteronomy 30:15, 19 (NIV)

Did you eat breakfast this morning, or did you decide to skip it? Did you call in sick because you went to bed late last night and didn’t feel like getting up this morning?

Did you speak a kind word to your spouse or child, or were you so busy getting ready that you didn’t say anything to them? When you went shopping, did you use some restraint and pass up charging that item you just “had to have” but don’t really need, or did you buy it anyway?

Have you ever stopped to realize that everything you do in life is a choice? Even when you decide to do nothing about a situation, you are still making that choice.

Each day you choose how you are going to spend your money. You decide whether or not to nurture a relationship. You determine if you want to stay at a job you hate, or move on to one you might like. You also make choices regarding your health by what you eat or don’t eat. And, oftentimes, you decide to bear grudges against people or circumstances rather than let go of all the negativity you feel.

God has a lot to say about choice. He tells us we can make a choice that brings life. In other words, work toward a positive outcome. Or we can choose death, which results in negativity and fosters outcomes that bring pain and misery. God says the choice is ours.

It’s true that, oftentimes, life throws you some things at you that are totally unfair. But how you handle it is a choice that you make.

“Choosing life,” first and foremost, means you choose to believe in Christ and to foster a close relationship with God. In everyday life, it means to treat people with kindness, even when it hurts, and to pursue what you do to the best to your ability.

The power of choice is a God-given gift to help you live out your dreams. You don’t have to take giant leaps of faith. You can start by doing small things first. That, oftentimes, gives you the courage to make a bigger step

Pray and ask God what new choices you can make; help combat some of the destructive consequences of wrong choices by making healthier ones.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author of the book “Letters To A Friend,” speaker, life and writing coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com.