Life as a Crossroad

"Everyone has a time in their life they view as a crossroad. Sometimes you can see it as it's happening, and you're able to choose one way or another. Other times you may not realize you're there until you look back, and see what a turning point it really was. This week, write about a time you view as a marker in your life; a distinct place where things changed, for better or worse. "  ~~ Journal Prompt from Sometimes Sweet blog

I could write about the decision to teach in China from 1999-2000 as a pivotal point in my life -- that sudden, unplanned venture that rewrote my career and focused my life direction.  Because of that year in China, I have a love and passion for international students.  Because of that year in China, I went back to school for a TESL certificate and eventually an MA in education.  Because of that year in China, I see God's work on a global scale in a whole new way.

I could write about taking the job as Women's Resident Director at Davis College in 2003 as a key turning point in my life -- it led me to my husband, allowing us to work together in close contact, facilitating a life-long relationship that otherwise may not have occurred. 

But the more I live, the more I'm convinced that it's not the big "crossroads" moments that determine the course of one's life; it's the everyday choices we make along the way that determine who we are and set the tone of our lives.   You see, I believe that "man [or woman] makes his plans, but God directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)  To this day, I have a hard time articulating why I chose to go to China.  All I know is that it became the next not-so-logical step that God asked me to take after college.  But a series of milli-decisions led up to that one huge decision.  If I had met a guy in college and had been in a serious relationship upon graduation, I would not have gone.  God closed off that option for me.  He "directed my steps" in order to steer me toward my China decision.  Which then impacted the course of my life. 

The same is true of my "choice" to become RD at Davis. The year before taking the RD job,  I had just returned from living in southern California.  I was looking for an all-consuming job/ministry that I could give myself fully to as a single woman.  For various reasons, I had mistakenly assumed the RD job to be a closed door for me. When it became evident that it was a very open door, I eagerly leapt through the door!  Circumstances, or rather, God's orchestration of circumstances, very much shaped that crossroads decision, as well.

My point?  

Abide in Christ DAILY.  

Walk with the King DAILY.  

Make daily choices that add up to life choices.  

When "things work out well" for me, it's usually a result of a series of minuscule choices that have led up to one grand moment -- one decisive turning point. I have not usually found myself pondering long and hard about a key life decision -- it's usually just been the obvious next step.  

Because of allowing His Word to infiltrate and influence my thinking, because of choosing to make my life about following His Will, when the crossroads come along, the direction becomes crystal clear.  

Not to say that I haven't made bad choices or started down a deceptive path.  But even in those times, when I came to my senses and looked around me to discover where the path was leading, I could trace the arrival at that spot to a series of seemingly small, but neglectful, sinful choices.  Thank God for His grace in those times!   

So make today a crossroads day:  

Choose life!  

Choose joy! 

Choose to walk in obedience to the One Who holds the future in His hands.