Yes, You Have A Choice

Let’s all sing - “It’s the most wonderful time of the year, There’ll be much mistletoeing, And hearts will be glowing; When loved ones are near; It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, the most wonderful time of the year!” Now that this classic, Andy Williams, Christmas tune is now an earwig and stuck in your head, I wanted to remind you, there are only a few days remaining until Christmas. We are looking forward to Christmas with the wonderful blessing of being with our family and friends and our grandchildren are so excited it makes us feel like children, again. So, it is also the “Hap-happiest time of the year!”

A friend and I were discussing happiness, recently when he said he wished this holiday feeling was year-round not just a short few weeks. I was a little surprised because I believe happiness and the feeling within or without is a choice that each of us make. It reminded me of a quote by John Stuart Mill, “I have learned to seek happiness by limiting my desires rather than in attempting to satisfy them.” In other words, it is our choice to simplify our lives and be happy where we are. At least, that is my take on it.

Our whole life is nothing more than a canvas of choices. What choice could you make right now to change your life in a significant and lasting way? We are different from everyone else on planet earth. There has never been anyone like us, and there never will, again. Our spirit, our thoughts and feelings, our ability to reason – all of these things exist collectively only in us. Our eyes are incomparable; they are windows to a soul that is also uniquely ours. A single strand of our hair contains DNA that can only be traced to us. Of the multitudes that have come before us and the multitudes that follow, not one of them duplicates the formula by which we are made.

We are different from everyone else! We are special! And we are chosen, loved unconditionally and offered a life of salvation, free to all who ask. The qualities, many of them rare, that make us one of a kind are no accident.

Why have we been created different and unique from everyone else? We have been made different so that we may make a difference and add value to each other. That’s right, because in some way, form or fashion, we are changing the world – you are changing the world for someone around you, right now. Every choice we make and action we take matters to someone. Every choice we do not make and every action we do not take, matters just as much. Millions of lives are being altered, caught up in a chain of events initiated by us this very day. We choose what chain of events we will initiate; whether we realize it or not.

We need to understand that we have been given everything we need to act, and the choice is ours alone. Beginning this very moment, we will choose wisely. We should never feel inadequate, again. We will not dwell in thoughts of insignificance or be content with wandering aimlessly. We are powerful. We matter. We have the choice, and we are the choice. We have been chosen to make a difference and add value to all those who surround us.

In the words of the infamous Dr. Suess, “Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite lucky!” And we are. We have the freedom to share our faith, hope, joy and unconditional love with others, unimpeded and without fear of retaliation. Yes, I am giddy with emotions as we anticipate Christmas morning watching our grands surprised faces as they open their gifts, but it is more than that – We are giddy knowing we are free to worship a powerful God who loves us unconditionally and so much that He sent His only Son to earth to teach us how to Love one another.

I want to encourage each of us as leaders in our homes, communities and organizations that leaders assume the responsibility for the health of their relationships with those around us. This means they set the tone – we set the tone. They must initiate what they want others to do. It is my prayer that you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and come to understand you are the difference maker! Luke 2:11

Have a wonderful day,

James Dodwell