Years ago, when I lived in Europe, I had a friend from Germany who made a trip stateside to visit friends living in Virginia. When she returned I asked her how she liked the United States. Her response surprised me, "there were too many choices", she replied, "I found shopping for anything extremely stressful in America, I was always required to make a decision on a size or a brand". Every day we make countless choices; some are big, most are small to insignificant. Nonetheless, we carry on throughout the day choosing this, choosing that, until we choose the time to turn in for the day only to begin all over again tomorrow. The small choices can be habitual, a favorite breakfast fare or the routing to school or work. The larger ones take careful, sometimes prayerful, deliberation and courage. Our son made such a choice when he graduated from college back in May. He chose to take an employment opportunity in Texas, he left his wife and his dog temporarily and made the cross-country trek. He was excited and hopeful for the future, we all were. Well, unfortunately, the job has gone away. What does Kyle face now? He's looking at another array of choices, I am confident that he will choose well. I posted a while back about choosing to make some personal lifestyle changes of my own, I haven't looked back since that day. Those choices, both nails and diet, were big ones for me. They continue to yield happy results; in fact, after several months of making better food choices I am delighted to have so many more options in a closet full of clothes that fit me once again! I am guilty of taking my blessings for granted; the ability to pick and choose, as well as abundant choices both large and small, are blessings not to be ignored. The next time you're in the cereal aisle at the grocery store or flipping between stations on the radio in your car, think of Beate from Berlin and try to imagine a life without so many choices. Try this little experiment along with me, each time you make a choice today assign a number to it and say a quick "thank you", you'll be amazed at how quickly they add up.
Life is Good!
When we choose to be grateful for the abundance that's present we experience heaven on earth. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach
16 comments:
This is a really interesting post with lots to think about. I hadn't ever considered how many choices I make throughout the day. I've already chosen to get out of bed and walk 4 miles with a friend this morning, chosen which route we'd take, and chosen which clothes to put on for a walk in this muggy weather. Believe me, taking a shower next is not a choice, it's a definite necessity! ;-) I think by the end of the day, our choices could be substantial in number. I can't promise you that I'll have an exact number by bedtime (and I may or may not choose to tell you that number...hehehe!) but it's going to be rather inspiring to try to keep track.
Our prayers for Kyle and his bride as they follow a new, unexpected path. Sometimes those give the best journies.
And congrats on seeing results from your choices. How are your nails doing?
Thanks for giving me a little "nugget" to think about today. :-)
Thank goodness that we have so many choices. Life would be very dreary without so many. Let's hope we don't lose them! Long live choices, long live possibilities!
Sorry to hear it didn't work out for Kyle, maybe his next opportunity will be a little closer to home! I can give him some networking groups to join if he is interested!
You are such a blessing! Thanks for the reminder of how blessed we are. I'm glad to hear you've stuck with the decission on your nails. Just the chemicals breathed in nail salons is enough of a reason to not do that. They are full of neurotoxins and cancer causing chemicals. We keep trying to make ourselves health while constantly exposing ourselves to toxins. Reminds me of a line from a John Prine song "Stop wishin' for bad luck and knockin' on wood".
As to your son...God has a plan for him, no worrys there. Keep the faith :o)
blessings,
debbie
Great post! Yes, we are truly blessed and need to recognize and appreciate these blessings. My heart goes out to you about Kyle. My son also graduated in May, lives in north Texas and is still looking for a job. As moms we simply encourage, pray, and trust in God. Yes, we have the privilage to choose to do that!
My DH who travels worldwide says the same as Beate ... we are one blessed country & people ...
May your son find journey end with great success & dreams fulfilled.
TTFN ~Mardyon
I chose to read your blog post - Thank you.
Yes, we are blessed to have the opportunity to make choices ~ but they do cause a lot of stress. I see this in my MIL. Simple grocery shopping is a major problem for her because there is so much to wade through to get milk, bread, and cat food (and just those three offer a dizzying array of options).
Glad to hear your choices are yielding results ~ prayerfully wishing the same positives for Kyle and family.
If nothing else, change (and choice) are certain.
Lots to think about. How true, we have so many choices.
I'll pray for your son and daughter-in-law, and for God to open up opportunities and show him a clear path for his future choices, and peace in the decisions they make together as a couple.
I am sorry to hear that Kyle's job have not turned out to be what he was hoping it would be. I am sure it will be a learning experience that will be important for him.
I am always thrilled to go down to the U.S to shop. It always amazes me how many different kinds of ready made frosting there really are!! In Canada we have only about 4. I never even buy ready made frosting. But the thrill to just look!! LOL I always love to wander through your grocery stores. You have stuff there that I didn't even know existed!!
My thoughts and prayers for Kyle and his new journey.
Great post. Certainly will be thinking about your son. I am sure he will make the right choices. Thanks for the inspiration.
Kyle will be fine. He knows he has a strong foundation and the world is full of choices for him. It will all work out.
I'm so sorry to hear about Kyle's job. I've been there...where you move far away from home for THE job only to find yourself empty handed. I hope he will come on back home. I'm sure better doors will open for him!
And nice post about choices. I think all too often we move semi-consciously through our days out of habit. Nice to be reminded that in all things we can (and should) choose - and wisely so.
Wow did I ever relate to the first lines of this post because of living overseas for so long. I was simply overwhelmed with choice and couldn't hardly stand to be in a shop long because I was easily distracted with eyes darting this way and that and then the sense of too much as though everything was crashing in on me. It's been over three years and at times I'm still very overwhelmed (exception fabric!)
I'm truly sorry to hear the job situation for your son did not work out but we all know that there are reasons why things happen. I bet a promising future and something far better is on the horizon!!
Very nice post Debby-
Sorry to hear that Kyle's job did not work out but I am sure he will find a choice that works out well for him. I hope it will be closer to you all.
I loved your bottom quote.
I also can relate to your friend about having too many choices- I often choose to go to a smaller grocery because it gets overwhelming.It is true that we all make choices each day that suit us and our lifestyles.
Warmest regards,
Anna
What a perfectly wonderful post. I often joke about cleaning house...tossing everything out the window and starting over. The truth is I could never do that. The choices would be overwhelming and I am much too frugal to be able to do that without way too much stress. God has gifted me in so many ways - not with wealth which is transient anyway, but with enough. And I am so grateful for His wisdom. blessings, marlene
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