Indecisiveness has plagued me for 27 years. I love going out to eat, but I hate the process of deciding what to eat. What do I feel like? What’s the healthy option? Do I want to splurge and get dessert? How much do I want to spend? What sounds good? What is recommended? Salmon or Steak? Medium or Well Done? Blue Cheese or Honey Mustard? Oy vey!
Our society is inundated with millions of choices everyday. Whatever your desire… there is a feast of options set before you.
Are you a foodie? ZAGAT has rated over 788 Seattle restaurants… that’s enough to keep you busy for 2 years.
Are you a wino? Just walk into any grocery store and you will find nearly 2 or 3 aisles dedicated to you.
Are you a coffee snob? Google maps lists 9,368 exist in Seattle so take your pick! I doubt you will have to walk far to find one.
Are you a gym rat? There’s yoga, hot yoga and pilates studios, small neighborhood gyms, mega-gyms, outdoor boot camps, cycling classes, personal running coaches, Zumba classes, Kinesis training… I think I’ve made my point.
I’m a sucker for false promises and advertising. I’ve been the girl that falls for the online ad that sells a boat load of promises for just $9.99! Only to forget to cancel the subscription and get charged a whopping $89.99 the next month! I get excited about the “latest” thing and sell my soul for a few weeks until I realize it was all smoke and mirrors. In the meantime… my soul wilts. Parched and dry I seek harder for REAL WATER only to remember… AGAIN… it’s only found in one source.
“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” - Jesus Christ, John 4:14
I’m so prone to forget this. I’m so prone to let my desires for this life on earth lead me down empty, lonely trails that cause only entanglement and destruction. I constantly choose to meet my immediate needs and stresses with whatever problem-solving strategies or coping tools I can find. But all that is accomplished is momentary distraction from how thirsty my soul is for living water.
I thirst for Jesus. I desire intimacy with my completer. But he is often the most neglected person in my life as I wade through the myriad of choices that promise to meet my more surface desires.
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.” Apostle Paul, Philippians 3:8-9.
I need to learn from Paul and downgrade my earthly desires to garbage status. Perhaps then the thirst of my soul will scream louder than my thirst for possessions, power or prestige.
I often think this might be easier if I had fewer options. I sometimes dream of living in wide-open spaces, in one of those single stop sign towns where the hustle and bustle of life moves at the pace of a slug. I imagine that I would spend all of my spare time with Jesus. But that’s a pipe dream. After living in the middle of nowhere in India for six weeks, I found it’s still hard to choose Christ even when there is no internet to surf, no phone to call home, and few people who speak English to talk to! There I thought my soul would be satisfied if only I could check my facebook or talk to my mom or get a cup of real coffee! I’m left without an excuse.
Underneath, deep calls to deep. My soul thirsts for Christ. My mind might think that gnawing of my soul will be satisfied with earthly whims and fantasies, but it will not. I’m always left with greater emptiness and a more anemic soul. To choose Christ requires that we believe this world and it’s promises will fail. Our desires are superfluous, unnecessary and a distraction from the water that will enrich our soul, give us peace, joy and the security we truly desire.
Today… I choose Christ.
Abba, may the things of this world grow strangely dim, in the light of your glory and grace.
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