I recently read a wonderful book titled Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall. There was a great quote by one of the characters where she said, "God's plan ain't a free pass...He gives us moments to make choices, and we make them. We [are] accountable for those choices. God's job ain't to make our lives easier, it's to make us better souls by the lessons He give us. I tell you now, I wouldn't change one choice I made...no matter what."

This led me to recall the verse Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.'" Wow. There is so much promise to this verse - God will ultimately lead us to a place of prosperity and peace. Yet, there is another verse from John where Jesus told his Disciples directly "...in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

So between those verses and the quote from the book, I got to thinking. Life is not meant to be easy. This world will lead us to some very dark and scary places. But, we can rest in the promise that the ultimate plan is good and we will prosper. That said, it is not handed to us.

Growing up in the Methodist church, I learned about free will. The belief behind free will is that every person has the chance to decide for themselves whether to follow Christ or choose a different path. No person should be forced in to any faith belief and the decision to have a relationship with Christ is a personal one. When I read the quote from the book about how God gives us moments in life to choose, it really stuck with me. It got me thinking about the choices I have been presented with on a daily basis and whether I have been making the right ones.

In hindsight, I can see some of those daily choices I have made and can now interpret whether that was the right decision or not. For example, when someone makes me feel like I was not heard or respected, I tend to have a hard time seeing them the way God does. The selfish and human side of me gets irritated, finds what is wrong with them and justifies my judgmental attitude with those human traits in them. The better choice for me to make would be to see them the way God does - many times hurt feelings come from either a lack of communication or a triggered response from past hurt and/or trauma. If I could focus on that more, I would probably have a bigger heart for people and save a lot of heartache for myself.

So what about you? What are the choices God is putting in front of you each and every day that you may be overlooking? Take some time to slow down and see how God could be using you - if you make the right choice.