A Fork in the Road...

A fork in the road.  A decision to be made.  We’ve all been there … or are there.  There comes a point when we have to decide … for ourselves … who we will be … how we will live. 

As a child, I simply followed my parents’ good example.  They went to church, so I went to church.  Wherever they lived, I lived.  What they thought, I thought.  While I remain grateful for their guidance, there came a time when I had to choose for myself the life I would live. This has meant difficult decisions along the way.  At one point, this meant leaving my parents’ church in search of a place where I could grow spiritually.   At another time, it meant marrying Russ and leaving my hometown and the job I’d had for a decade.  Today, it means choosing contentment with my life, even if it doesn’t meet the expectations of others. Despite the difficulties, they are decisions I would make again.

Jesus made similar decisions.  As a boy, he submitted himself to his parents when they told him it was time to leave his discussions at the Temple* and head back home. However, when his mother and brothers tried to persuade him to come home as a young man who had just started his public ministry, he answered differently**.   He had come to the fork in the road and made the choice. He chose to live the life to which God had called him, rather than trying to meet the expectations of others.   He chose ministry over money.  He chose people over position.  He chose sacrifice over earthly success.

At this moment in our married life, the fork represents a choice between a continued career in the Army ... promotions ... pensions or the uncertainty of a potential new career in ministry.  

*Luke 2.41-51; **Mark 3