Make a Choice

by Karen K. Scott

Life has a way of molding you into the person you’re truly meant to be. Every problem that occurs in your life is simply a test. The tricky thing about life is you have until your time expires to get it right. A couple weeks of ago I was in a mentoring session. There was a group of youth who were either living in foster care, or being raised by their grandparents. None of these kids had the ideal living situation. We’re talking about at-risk, impoverished youth. They were given a fill-in-the-blank poem titled I Am Poem. It was so encouraging to see these young people think highly of themselves. One young man wrote I am loving and special. I wonder if I’ll be a father one day. I hear children laughing. I see a house in a nice neighborhood. I want to help people in need. These children have been dealing with problems out of their control some homeless at times and yet they still find a way to hope for a brighter future.

How many times has life dealt you a bad hand, a bad day, and you’ve chosen to handle it negatively? Each situation you face is molding you into the person you’re meant to be. The crazy thing is until you pass the test, you’ll keep repeating the lesson.

Problems will happen. You may feel like a failure at times. However, the only true failure is giving up. You have to keep at it and hold yourself accountable to you and no one else. The young man who was reading his poem later shared that he would not be a result of his parents’ bad decisions. He would be a product of his decision to live his life to the best of his ability. Talk about encouraging! Speaking things into existence. Speaking positive things into your life. Having a positive attitude. These are all tools used to overcome.

This young man decided to conquer his problems. This young man knows that his attitude toward life is a direct reflection of his outcome. For the Bible says God will bless you if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested.
Never let your problems define you, let them mold you into being a better human, wife, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, or friend. The key to conquering your problems is to share them, remember you’re never alone. Often, we let pride or fear keep us in solitude. Reach out to someone and ask for help. There is a freeing spirit in asking for help. Not only are you being vulnerable, you’re allowing someone else to bless you, help you with your need. This could be as simple as a word of encouragement, reassurance, direction, or a testimony. You could be a blessing by letting someone bless you.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1:12