We all have those moments. You know the ones. The moments that you wished you could have done differently if you had more time to think about it. But we all react without thinking of the consequences – the mind-numbing consequences.
Just take this for example: You’re coming out of the grocery store with your two children in tow. Little Leslie pouting, her arms crossed, because she didn’t get her favorite cereal – for her own good, of course, the cavity the dentist found in her seven-year-old mouth made you cut out sweets – and Colin, your three-year-old bundle of energy, dancing by your side, chattering away.
A plastic bag is gripped in your right hand with the groceries needed for tonight’s dinner. You’re harried, stressed and ready to just get home. Of course, when you are almost to your car you feel the bag start to give. No, no, no! You yell in frustration in your head. The bag can’t hear you, being inanimate, and rips anyway, spilling the contents all over the pavement. Cursing, you drop down to gather the items together as the wind blows your hair into your face.
Pushing it to the side, out of the way, you glance up to see the one thing you need, the one thing you went to the store for, floating away on the wind without the other items to hold it in place. Telling the children to stay put, you give chase. It’s getting away, it’s about to be lost. If it’s lost, you’ll have to go back into the store, fight the crowds and deal with the kids. Rushing forward, heart pounding, you put on a last burst of speed and…your foot catches the very end of it. Success!
Victorious, a broad smile crosses your face and you start to lean forward to retrieve it when the sound of your son’s voice makes your head swivel around. Colin yells, “I got it, Mommy! Don’t worry!”
Leslie screams at her brother as he runs for the empty bag, sprinting straight for the busy highway. You scream for him, too, but of course when it is important, he doesn’t listen. This is a fun new game you two are playing and he is lost in the chase.
Again, you start to run. Your legs are burning, your chest feels as though a vise has clamped around it, you can’t breathe, but you still scream. Praying for another burst of speed, hoping your son hears the frantic note in your voice and stops, but none of that happens. You lean forward, your hand outstretched. He’s at the road, straining forward, the cars are right there, zooming by fast. Your fingers brush the back of his collar, trying to get a grip before it is too late, time slows down and then…
You see all of the choices we make all lead to one occurrence and then another and then another. If the woman in the above scenario had stopped before picking up her kids, if she had gotten paper instead of plastic, if she didn’t go after the one item caught in the wind leaving her children unaccompanied for that split second, it could’ve turned out differently.
That’s how God feels. He sees the danger, He sees you rushing forward, He is warning you, He’s screaming at you to turn back but you don’t listen. Free will – we all have it. Does He save you? Sometimes, yes. Does the path you’re on lead you so far out of His reach that you’ve gone beyond His help? Maybe.
The choice is yours.