It's Your Choice...

Life is all about choices. When we find ourselves in compromising or difficult situations, we may not always know the exact thing to do. We do, however, have an opportunity to make a choice and with every choice comes consequences.

I don't know about you, but it's not always easy for me to decide what the right the right thing to do is. In the past, I've been given signs and have chosen to ignore them. Time and unforeseen occurrences befall us all, but signs come directly from our Heavenly Father. A sign is an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A sign can come in many forms, but always comes at the right time. Please don't confuse obstacles with signs.

I've made excuses for my actions but, the truth of the matter is, I wanted something so bad that I refused to allow anything to stand in my way. In hindsight, I was given many warning signs, but I told myself that those were just obstacles I had to overcome. I told myself that I knew what I needed and that I knew what I wanted. The sad truth is that, more often than not, I was allowing society's standards and paradigms to tell me what I should be shooting for and where I should be at a certain place in my life.

It's a common mistake among naive and untrained minds, but you don't have to make the same mistakes I made. Through many disappointments and letdowns, I now realize that everything I want is not necessarily everything I need. I had to get my goals and aspirations in line with God's divine plan for me. I had to let go all of my expectations and stop caring about what people around me thought. I did this by preparing my heart and mind, so they would be receptive to warning signs.

The most important thing I did is I stopped wasting my free time and made it "knee-time". No, there are no spelling errors here. You read it correct. You have to have "knee-time". In the past, I'd do silly things to pass my free time. Maybe I'd bake cookies. Perhaps I'd watch a movie. It didn't matter what it is I was doing, the point is that I wasn't doing anything important. I was just wasting free time. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying to not do things that bring you pleasure or not take a break and just kick back. What I'm saying is that perhaps you could use some of that time to get on your knees and pray.

Why wait until things get bad to pray to God? Why wait until you need something from God to turn to God? I realized that, when I wait until my mind is in a disarray and I'm confused or unsure as to what my next step should be, it's difficult for me to identify God's warning signs. When I began to pray regularly to God, I noticed that he left me signs every single day, signs to guide me and my steps. Then, when finally faced with a difficult decision, I knew God's voice when I heard it. I knew what signs he was leaving me. It was easy for me to identify the next step to take.

What about you? Can you identify God's voice? Can you recognize the warning signs he leaves for you? Or do you need to put in more "knee-time"? I'm not here to judge anyone. I'm only here to tell you what my experiences have been in hopes that I can help you avoid some of the same mistakes, heartaches and pains that I've had to endure. Whether or not you heed my advice is completely up to you. It's your choice...