Yesterday was the perfect setting. Everywhere you looked there was warm English sun, an intense green dotted by young blossoms, and not a cold breeze to be found. We began the day with fresh bagels, a tabletop with fresh tulips, and strawberries. As the day grew, things began to fall into the puzzle. Whitney left with big smiles for a week trip to a Victorian town in Wales. Carli insisted on a long bike cruise so that she could clear her head for homework. Cherry planned and plotted updates to her garden.
The day turned out to be superb. Activities included basketball, breaking in a new baseball glove, watching a competitive Formula 1 race, woodturning, and more bicycles. Add to that a big dose of garden updates with fresh flowers, herbs, and neighbors out chatting and you have a scene anyone would enjoy!
In contrast, Solomon describes another scene. “It was dusk, the evening coming on, the darkness thickening into night. Just then, a woman met him – she’d been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.” (Proverbs 7.9,10) You know the results could only lead to trouble and potential disaster!
Today is a fresh day with new opportunities. I do not know the scenes or what opportunities will come before me. I do know that I have a choice. I can take advantage with the sun is out and the weather is inviting; I can also put myself in positions where the only outcome is failure. The contrast is stark and clear, yet it seems almost too easy to convince oneself otherwise.
It is always easy to comment from the sidelines. In the middle of the day the scene is what it is; you and I seem trapped to walk through whatever is there. We always have a choice; play out where we find ourselves are move to somewhere different. I would like to blame the externals, however, in the end I am making the choices.
Settings are one thing; putting ourselves at risk is another. Today, we make and live with our decisions.
