Walk through any market in India and you will find a wealth of things unfamiliar. In Manipur things are even different from the rest of India. Fermented bamboo shoots cry out to be prepared for dinner. Dried chilies could be the missing ingredient to that special dish at lunch; but which type? Longies for men and women dot the market in a myriad of colors and patterns. I still have not been able to figure out what makes one gentle wrap a feminine color and another masculine. Clothes, utensils, fruit, familiar and strange vegetables, a meat section, and even some working knives and arrows are all part of the scene monitored and mastered by women.
Driving through the villages and towns only makes the matters worse! Every stall has something unusual. Small logging mills stand working besides the road just crying out for us to stop by and have a visit. Furniture, crafts, and electric combinations all stand with invitations open.
How does one choose anything; on what basis can you come to a conclusion? Is everything driven by price? Is the items place on the scale of usual and unusual the key guide? Do you use your initial reaction as the right barometer?
Choices in life follow much the same dilemma. Is everything to be done on a whim? What is the balance between security and comfort? Is money makes the crucial difference? What comes first?
Solomon suggests that we “get wisdom – it’s worth more than money; choose insight over income every time.” (Proverbs 16.16)
Choices made within these parameters bring results that are very different from the daily norm. Steps cannot be taken on individual strength alone; they require faith lived out as trust in the Supreme Being. Looking to the future brings fresh waves of doubt because things will never be in our control. The promises and assurance from God are here, but what comes first? Do we try on it on our own or step out in faith?
The choice is always here for you and me; what is first and next?
