Apple

As a mom of a senior who is applying to colleges this fall, I've spent a lot of time thinking about choices. I suppose that is why today my box held an apple. We usually have apples, or yogurt, or other "healthy" snacks at our house and all of our children are told that for the most part, they can have as many of the healthy snacks as they want. And even though they know they will feel better after eating something that is good for them, if there is a sweet option in sight, smart choices can fly out the window.

Making the right choice has been a stumbling block for humanity from the beginning. Male and female, Adam and Eve, were created in God's image, in that they were given the ability to choose. They could choose to obey God, or to take what was forbidden. One choice would allow them to stay in the garden, while the other would send them out into the world, to a life of hardship and eventual death. The Bible is a collection of choices. Abram chose to leave the land of his fathers to the land that God would show him. Rebekah chose to help Jacob trick his father Isaac. The disciples chose to follow Christ and Christ chose to die on the cross.

We are faced with a myriad of choices every day. Our choices may seem more important, like choosing a college, or less important, like choosing a snack. We can choose to wake up early and exercise, or grab a little more sleep. We can choose to start the day with prayer, or with the paper. We can choose to lose our temper, or keep it, speak to our neighbor, or walk on by. We can choose friends who lift us up, or those who tear us down. We can choose to be jealous of the clothes/homes/lives or others, or grateful for all we have been given. We can choose hate, or love.

God has sent the Holy Spirit to support us in all we do. We simply have to choose to receive it.

What will you choose?