CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

I've always been a book lover. When I was a kid I collected and read all the usual suspects; animal stories, coming of age novels, boarding school series and, for a long time, mystery and adventure stories. My love began when I got my first Famous Five book for my seventh birthday and soon grew to include the full range of Enid Blyton mysteries, Nancy Drew, Boxcar Children and a series called Choose Your Own Adventure. For those of you unfamiliar with these, the concept was that you got to choose what happened next. There were a number of options and you would be directed to different pages in the book as you

made you choice.

Obviously there were a limited number of endings, so people who only like reading a book once wouldn't get ENDLESS enjoyment from them, but the concept was novel enough that it drew in several generations of readers and they're actually still available today.

Recently I've been reflecting how much life is like that. We're given options in the same way that the reader is, and just like they can make choices, there's a limited outcome.

I don't believe God limits our choices except in some situations. But what I do know is that whilst the choices we make (open this door or close it? Explore what's round this corner or wait a little longer?) may be wide and varied and lead to a crazy range of experiences and 'what ifs?', the ending is limited - to VICTORY! My choices are made within the framework not of six or seven plot lines that may be better than the other, but by the fact that I love and serve a God who goes before and behind me, making a path, who knows what I'll choose before I'll choose it and, as it says in Romans, in working ALL things to my good. So, I'm going to keep on walking this adventure, making those choices, and know that like in the books, the ending is written....and it's going to be

victory, freedom, overcoming, joy, peace, and LOVE!