Options

Sometimes I find myself struggling to see the alternatives and options.  Everything has come down to a single path, limited to no variations, and no choice.  It is as if I have been locked into a journey with an evil autopilot.  The course is set.  I cannot get off.  Doom is merely a matter of time.
 
Just when I give up, really, completely, and totally concede, something inevitably happens.  It is as if I have been blind to the options which were always available.  In hindsight I wonder how I could have missed the obvious, yet I did.  The bad news is that I am not unique or alone.  Life is, for many, a path with a set course.  Fears hide at the corner even as we know where they are.  Doubts creep along beside us, taunting just when we seem to muster the courage to face the uncertainty in front of us.  Uncertainty is a piece of clothing we wear far more naturally than should ever be done. 
 
First, none of this is new for anyone.  The strong face the same struggle as the weak in understanding what their options are.  One community of old were confronted by mountains of fears, uncertainties, and doubts.  “The towns and people of Moab are at a loss, new-hatched birds knocked from the nest, fluttering helplessly at the banks of the Arnon River, unable to cross: ‘Tell us what to do, help us out!  Protect us, hide us!”  (Isaiah 16.2, 3)
 
Second, a lack of options is the conclusion of a view without freedom.  Even in our blindness, we always have freedom.  Even in our despair, we have the ability to choose.  Even in the unfairness, cruelty, and inhumanity of life, we hold a priceless gift within us – freedom.  Freedom is a gift from God which cannot be taken away, only given.
 
Today is full of the options we see.  If we blind ourselves we will see very few, if any, options.  If we open ourselves up to the wonder, beauty, and diversity of God – ah, anything is possible.