Choices

By Richard Bott

Choices and consequences.

For as long as I can remember (right back to my beginning memories), the primary image of God in my life has been something like this:

I'm walking on a road. Lots of interesting things to see.
Smells to smell. Sounds to hear.
People I can see in the near, mid-, and far distance.

But always - always - there's someone with me. We talk. We laugh. We... cry.
We explore the universe - my universe that's so much smaller than His...

I'm walking down that road, and I come to a wall.
In that wall are a myriad of doors.
God looks at me and says,
"Well... I'd suggest that you go through door 3, 7, 22, 198, 2201, or 35492.
I'd strongly suggest that you don't go through doors 1, 19, 26, 802, 1875, 3584, or 5839255.
The rest? Neither here nor there."

Sometimes I walk through one of the doors God has suggested.
We meet on the other side and I hear, "Hmmm... interesting choice. So. What did you learn?"

Sometimes I walk through one of the doors God doesn't care about one way or another.
We meet on the other side and I hear, "Hmm. Interesting choice. So... what did you learn?"

Sometimes, being the kind of person I am, I walk through one of the doors God has told me not to go through.
We meet on the other side... God helps me to stand up (because I've usually landed on my face)...
and I hear, "Interesting choice... so... what did you learn?"

No matter which door I choose, its the same question.
No matter which door I choose, God is never angry with me.
Perhaps disappointed. Perhaps frightened. Perhaps upset.

But never angry.

Hey, Abba? Thanks.