Decisions, decisions...

I woke up this morning to snow and ice on the roads. They had canceled school back home. Many of the schools in Boston, where I was staying, had delays. I was determined to get to the conference one way or another. My hotel was right on the subway line. It would be easy to just walk down the hill and catch a ride.

As I thought about leaving my car at the hotel I realized that if I took the subway I would have to walk in the rain, not only down the hill to catch it, but I'd also have to walk the half mile up the hill to Andover Newton at the other end. Life is never easy. So much of our time is spent trying to make the right decisions.

We agonize and lose sleep over them. The truth is that many of the decisions don't really matter in the long run. Today I could have gone either way. I didn't have to waste an hour thinking about it. But there are some decisions that do have a lasting impact.

How are you going to live your life? What are you going to use as a guiding principle? What will you set up as priorities in how you spend your time? These are the decisions that shape our lives and most of us spend very little thoughtful time on them. We just slide through life and focus on the deicsion of the moment.

This is where a regular devotional life can be so helpful. Spending time reading the Bible or in a prayer group or even attending worship services can help you put things in perspective. I know it works for me.

The truth is that I didn't spend an hour trying to decide what to do this morning. I had already made up my mind that I was going to the follow up session to the conference. How I got there didn't matter. I just got in my car and drove.

The roads weren't that bad by the time I left and it was a piece of cake. I got to hear the speaker talk about listening for the voice of God. Being there was what I was supposed to do.

Cal