Monday, January 10, 2005

Choices


Choices. Choices make the difference. Two people are in the same accident and severely wounded. They did not choose to be in the accident. It happened to them. But one of them chose to live the experience in bitterness, the other in gratitude. These choices radically influenced their lives and the lives of their families and friends. We have very little control over what happens in our lives, but we have a lot of control over how we integrate and remember what happens. It is precisely these spiritual choices that determine whether we live our lives with dignity.


Henri Nouwen

4 comments:

  1. Apparently you own a copy of _Bread for the Journey_ as well!

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  2. I was thinking something along these lines today - about how we choose to look at life. We had a patient who came in today and when we started to comment on the nasty cold, she brightly said "Well it really is quite nice today. The sun is shining so beautifully." Just hearing her react with cheer and not glumness and complaining sort of made my day.



    But it sure was cold, in my opinion!

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  3. Great quote - thanks for sharing. We're beginning a new message series on choices in two weeks. Very timely... Thanks!

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  4. About 15 years ago someone that I worked for (a non-christian) commented on how I needed to stop making so many negative comments about certain people/situations/issues. Shortly before that I'd noticed some good friends had this way of seeing things 'sunny side up'.



    Together, these things produced the stimulus for a change in my way of thinking and expressing myself. I truly believe God was behind it, showing me what was wrong, and helping me change my thinking.

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