The Moral of the Story -- Cindy Trane Christeson

“God’s mind is like sunshine, touching and penetrating all of creation

in an instant. In this way God can guide and enlighten you with his

wisdom and inspire you with his love.”

-- Joseph Girzone

“I’ve heard people describe how they view life by saying their cup is

either half full or half empty, but I have to say, mine was drained dry

long ago. Now it’s collecting dust,” a friend said to me a while back,

when we visited. “How are things going for you, Cindy?”

I had to laugh. “Well, my cup is more than half full. I think I’d have

to say it’s overflowing,” I answered. “I can’t complain, because it’s

really all good things that are going on. It’s just that it seems like a

lot of everything all at once. At least it was until I stopped changing

channels.”

My friend laughed, then asked, “What do you mean by changing

channels?”

I told her something I’d explained to some other friends shortly

before that. I’d been feeling a bit overwhelmed by an extra busy schedule

of writing, speaking, traveling, house guests and helping with wedding

plans for our daughter and her fiance. I don’t usually mind making

decisions, but I suddenly had so many to make at once.

Somewhere along the freeway of many decisions, I got mentally stalled,

and one day I had trouble making the most minor decision. I was planning

a simple luncheon, but for the life of me, I could not decide where to

go.

My daughter Amy was home from college at the time, and she put her arm

around me lovingly and asked, “Mom, are you sure something isn’t out of

balance in your life right now?”

She was totally right. I was out of balance and my mind was muddled. I

prayed for God to bring guidance and order to my thoughts, and was

finally able to decide on a lunch location, and we had a nice meal.

When I came home, I took some time alone and prayed for God’s wisdom

and help in all I needed to accomplish. I realized that the static in my

mind was due to me trying to make too many decisions at once, but

forgetting to ask for God’s help with them one at a time.

I told some friends that it was like hitting the scan button on a

radio, and going from one channel to the next without really focusing on

any for the right length of time. It was as if I would just start to

identify the song and maybe even sing along with it, and it changed to

the next one. It was confusing.

The sad thing was that I was the one who was creating the static, and

I was like a radio with poor reception. But fortunately when I decided to

tune in to God, things became much clearer. With God’s help, it’s been

easier to tune in to and focus on one decision at a time.

“That’s a great word picture,” my friend said when I finished talking.

We agreed to pray for each other. We’re praying that we would do a better

job of tuning in to God. Hopefully we will hear him loud and clear.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

cindy@onthegrow.comf7 or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach, CA 92658.