"Sort the Piles and Keep Moving Forward"

Let your eyes look directly forward,
    and your gaze be straight before you.
Keep straight the path of your feet,
    and all your ways will be sure.  Proverbs 4:25-26

Laundry really never ends. Even if the baskets are empty, the clothes on one's back will soon need washed. The first step in doing the laundry is the "sorting." It seems easy when you've done it for decades until you try to explain to someone else how to "sort" the laundry. It isn't as simple as putting all the same colors together. Most know that you can't put a red evening dress with a red towel because the materials are different. The red dress will be ruined as the towel fades streaks of a different red onto the dress. Yes, it takes a little knowledge and judgment to "sort" through the "piles" that have accumulated throughout the week.

Recently, I sat down with a friend to discuss a big decision on an employment possibility she might be making. If it were just the question that needed answered, it seemed to be an easy yes or no response. But, it was about so much more. This decision would affect an entire "pile" of different parts of her life. After much discussion, we listed all the ways this decision could change her life. Now, came the difficult part: making the decision. It's not always easy to "sort" it all out, but at some point she has to make a decision and move forward.

Sometimes answers aren't really right nor wrong. It's more about having faith and trust after one looks honestly at how the decision can affect their life, and then through prayer, asks God for direction. One has to keep moving forward. You can't look back and wonder if you had made the other decision how all the "piles" in your life might have come out differently. Just like the red evening dress and red towel, the decision to put like colors together seemed like a logical one, but you didn't expect the streaks to do such a number on the dress. The red dress may need replaced, but you never know what is waiting to take its place.

When you're faced with a big decision that affects the many "piles" in your life, remember God is there to listen. He is a forward thinking God. He is there to help you "sort" through all the decisions that are neither right nor wrong. So, the next time you're "sorting" your laundry; remember, use your knowledge and judgment and know that whatever happens you've got to keep moving forward as verse 26 in Proverbs 4 reminds us, "and all your ways will be sure."

Let us pray . . .

Heavenly Father,

Each day, we are faced with so many decisions to sort through in our lives. Remind us to turn to you and keep moving forward with your guidance.

Amen

"Decisions are the hardest thing to make,
especially when it's a choice between,
where you should be, 
and where you want to be." ~ Author Unknown