Making the right decisions in life
Decisions have the power to change your life for the better, or some send you spiralling in a direction you did not want to go.
I was the witness to a remarkable life-changing moment last Friday, a fabulous moment. I was in the United Kingdom to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday after being unable to travel because of the pandemic.
My brother and I decided to travel to the legendary region called the Lake District, Cumbria, North West England.
A mountainous region scraped and shaped by the last ice age; this stunning area became the home to the romantic Lake Poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit, lived there.
“You may leave the Lake District, but it never leaves you,” wrote an anonymous author.
We set our sights on climbing the highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike, three-hour hours of scrambling and ascending the rugged terrain.
The top of Scafell Pike has a large square stone shelter; climbers stand on top of the stones to ensure they are in the highest spot. We sat eating our ham and cheese sandwiches, looking up at the stone block as people lined up to ascend the extra two metres.
Then just a few feet away from me, a young man fell to one knee as a young woman gazed out at the view; he held a small box; she turned and saw him and was visibly startled, her blonde hair blowing, he was proposing marriage right there, and then, she burst into tears, hid her face for a moment and then shouted a resounding yes and yes.
The walkers all around realized what had happened, and we all cheered and clapped. I was the second person to shake their hands and congratulate them; I said I was a pastor from Canada and could complete the ceremony right there if they wanted. What a joyous moment to witness.
The Bible is full of significant decisions that brought change and joy to many.
Moses said yes to God at the burning bush to lead enslaved people to freedom. Joshua said yes to leading the people into the promised land, facing many trials and battles; the Shepherd boy David said yes to fighting Goliath, and the disciples left their boats and nets to follow Jesus.
The Bible calls his church the bride, and for each one of us, I believe God is asking something of us, to make a decision that changes our lives and brings us closer to Him, we may have a Goliath of a problem, but God is proposing you face it.
Perhaps it is time to step deeper into your faith and move from being on the edge to being all in and saying a resounding yes.
This Labour Day weekend, maybe climb a mountaintop and make the right decision for your life.