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Choices

March 6, 2025

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 |  Luke 9:18-20 |  Psalm 1

When I begin my Lenten journey I always ask, “What should I be focusing on?” Lent being a time of self-reflection, I wonder if the “self-reflection” becomes my focus and God is left to watch me struggle with myself. I forget that “myself” is not just me:  I am a child of God, God is my Father. I do not walk alone in this world, but in relationship with God. A relationship where we are together, not one where I do whatever and God responds. That was a choice I made many years ago as a young teen: to be in a relationship with God, to walk God’s path, to live a holy life. 

Choices can send me into a tailspin. What if, what if …the consequences are numerous. How do I make the right choice?

The readings for today clearly remind us that we are faced with choices that impact our lives.

Moses speaks God’s words: Choose between life by loving God and walking in his ways or death by not listening and turning away. Luke gets more personal when he relates Jesus’ challenge to follow the ways of the Lord or to lose ourselves by following the ways of the world.

Heavy stuff; these are tough choices. The lure of the world (safety, security, ownership) is a strong one, often engrained in us at an early age. The call be to be holy (humble, serving others, not one of the ‘in’ crowd) is not particularly appealing …until we make the wrong choices and, in desperation, cry out to God to save us.

So, we choose God. What does that mean, exactly? What do we do? Choosing God is choosing a relationship with God as Father, Jesus as Friend, and the Holy Spirit as mentor. It is an ongoing conversation. It means decisions that are made based on the word of God. To love God, to walk in God’s ways, and to never be alone in those decisions. It means unconditional peace, joy, and love. As we grow in our relationship we become “like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, (Psalm 1)” giving glory to God.

Is it smooth sailing? Not always from our standpoint, because sometimes we don’t listen to God and make decisions on our own. On one occasion when I was young and had made a dumb choice and was regretting it, a wise friend urged me to look at my life as a tapestry. God sees the beautiful top while we see the underside, full of knots and twisted threads. We can make dumb choices, and God is still with us.

For the past 70+ years my Lenten journey has taken me deep into valleys, and high into the mountains. Through times of sorrow, times of forgiveness, times of learning to trust, times of learning to let go; but never left alone, always with my Father, my Friend, and my Mentor.

Lent is a time of self-reflection: What do I choose? How do I live? Where am I on the path of walking in God’s ways? I choose LIFE, I choose to live in relationship with God, to be in communication with my Father, Friend, and Mentor. I choose to walk in God’s ways. I choose to believe…

Cindi Lovejoy

Enjoy this love song from GOD