Bobbing For Apples

**Photo courtesy of www.google.ca**

Have you ever gone to a Halloween party that had a bucket of bobbing apples? You didn't win a prize until you secured one in your mouth. Your face would get wet and water would, inevitably, splash into your eyes, temporarily blinding you. The experience could be a test study in futility and frustration.

Life can be a bit like bobbing for apples. You see all kinds of opportunities right in front of you and, at first, it seems like you can't lose. That you are about to secure the best decision. Lately, I feel like I have been the person who just stands at the tub of apples, paralyzed by fear of choosing the wrong apple. They all look good but one might be better than the other. How would I know?

Every morning, whether sitting in the dark or watching a fire in the wood stove, I pray. Sometimes desperately. Recently, it's been for wisdom to make the right decisions about life, work, and my passions. What is the right and wise decision to make when, no matter what you decide, there will be a varying length of dominoes in any given direction, affecting my situation and, possibly, others? Then, I think about people I know and the kinds of decisions they have made.

My friend who is a single father to four young boys. My girlfriend and her husband who are navigating their way through his cancer journey. Or my other friend, a lady I admire, who's carving out a new career path for herself. Along the way, they all had to make life altering decisions that may or may not affect others. Decisions that could not have been easy and even, scary. Yet, they made the decisions that had to be made.

Some decisions are easier to make than others, that's for sure. Choosing what clothes to wear each day, no brainer. Choosing whether or not to quit your job to pursue your passion, not so much. For me, going to God for the answers and wisdom I need is comforting. I don't think I have ever found a life situation that hasn't been addressed in Scripture. From finances to friendships, I have always been helped.

Yet, the situation I face now, while having the freedom to choose, has never been more nerve wracking. You'd think it would be easier, wouldn't you? So, why isn't it? There is a great promise in the Bible within a book called Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet and a man chosen by God to do some important work but Jeremiah questioned himself and his abilities.

God knew that about Jeremiah and many others, myself included, and issued this promise, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you..." (Jeremiah 29:13-14). I may question my decision making abilities at times but if I hang in there and keep asking for help to make those important decisions, the answers will come...soon, I hope.

Encouragement for the week:

What factors influence your decisions? Do they complicate or simplify those decisions?

If you are a Christian reading this, you know that when you seek God for wisdom and help, He promises to give both. Make sure you have the time and a quiet mind to hear God clearly when it comes to making important decisions.

If you are not a Christian reading this, you can look for Jesus and you will find Him. He is standing ready to help you with your problems and give you the tools needed to make the big decisions that you might be struggling with right now. You can trust Him to help you.