Yes, You Do Have Choices!

For years I believed I did not have much choice about who I should be or what I should do. I had the impression that to be a good Christian wife, I must go along with whatever happened around me and to me. Consequently, I didn’t think I had the right to make deliberate decisions about what I wanted to do or what I wanted to become. This misconstrued philosophy worked for me at first. But over the years my suppressed hurt, disappointment, frustration and anger—at not being able to be the person I thought God wanted me to be—resulted in total burnout.

I begged God for help and over the next few years, He assured me that I do have choices. In fact, I learned that He expects me to take responsibility for my own personal and spiritual development. That brought me relief, since I realized it meant I had the privilege of taking steps to make decisions that no one else can  make for me.

I know I am not the only woman who has had difficulty believing she has choices. 

Responding to Life’s Circumstances

There are at least three ways to respond to life’s circumstances:

1. One response style is to stay passive: just let life happen.
2. Another response is to question what is happening.
3. A third response is to do something about what is happening. I  believe that many women respond in the first way (just letting life happen) until this does not work well for them any longer.

Then they begin to question and consequently come face-to-face with problems they have not noticed before. At that point, women have a choice (and by the way, so do men.) Some women (including myself in the past) choose to become a victim of their circumstances. Usually when we choose this option, we do any or all of the following: whine, complain, blame, give up, deny, and stay miserable–and some may do it silently. Sadly, some women feel STUCK and can’t seem to get beyond this point.

I met other women who after realizing they had choices, moved ahead to become intentional. An intentional woman notices, feels the discomfort, questions, considers her choices, clarifies her options, gets support, and takes the next forward step.

You and I do have choices! That’s the relief-producing truth for today. And remember: The KEY reason for living intentionally is to glorify God as the person He designed you to be!

 EXCITING NEWS! The Intentional Woman book that Carol Travilla and I wrote will be featured on Dr. Randy Carlson’s Intentional Living program on Family Life Radio today, Wednesday, June 13 and Saturday, June 16. PLEASE LISTEN & CALL IN at 12:00 Noon! WIN A FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPY of THE INTENTIONAL WOMAN. Listen to find out how!

I’m wondering today: How have the 5 steps of The Intentional Woman process helped you?

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