Decisions Decisions Decisions

Written by Kim Heck

Have you ever made a hasty decision? A decision to go down a certain path or road in life without giving it much thought or prayer?

God recently used a “real road” in my life, the road that leads up to the swinging bridge on Grandfather Mountain, to remind me that it is never a good idea to do that.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) had its annual picnic on Grandfather Mountain, and thankfully my wife and I were able to attend this year. It was a beautiful day…warm, sunny, blue skies…perfect weather to really be able to see the beauty of the mountains.

Without really giving it much thought, we decided to take the bus that shuttles people all the way to the top of the mountain. As we began the gradual ascent up the winding road, I immediately noticed how narrow the road was…really narrow for a bus (or so it seemed to me).

The further we drove, the steeper the road became, and the straight road suddenly became a road laden with hairpin turns. That’s when I noticed there were no guard rails either…just a few rocks piled alongside the road. Like that would stop a bus from going down the side of a mountain into the ravine below.

Then as our driver was in the middle of making these hairpin curves with this big bus, he begins talking on his “walkie talkie” to the other drivers. I really thought I was going to have a stroke by the time we finally got to the top and got on solid ground again.

As soon as we walked away from the bus, I informed my wife that I didn’t know how we were getting back down that mountain, but it wasn’t going to be on that bus. I guess we would have spent the rest of the day walking back down to the picnic if it hadn’t been for my good friend Mike. I called him and practically begged him to drive up to the top of that mountain and get me. I don’t know if he had really planned to bring his family all the way up to the top of the mountain or if he just felt so sorry for me that he couldn’t say “no”. Either way, he saved me that day! I don’t think I have ever appreciated his friendship more than I did as he was driving me safely back down that mountain in his minivan.

Isn’t that just like what we do in our daily lives? We make a hasty decision to go in a certain direction without giving it much thought or any prayer and then end up begging God to save us and bring us safely back to Himself. Proverbs 4: 10-13 reminds us,

Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction; do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

God has so much wisdom. He is just waiting for me to ask Him to direct me and lead me down every road He places me on. Thanks God for the great reminder!