Susan and I were signed up to go on an Embassy sponsored tour of the Great Wall of China today. We have already seen that part of the Great Wall, but there would be a special lunch and a stop at a porcelain factory afterwards. I like those kinds of outings because someone else gets to drive, worry about parking, and they usually won’t get lost. Our main goal would be to relax, enjoy the tour and not get left behind when the bus returns.
That was the plan, but it didn’t work out that way. I had a choice to make earlier in the week. I needed some quiet time at work to write an employee evaluation and didn’t find that time during the busier-than-usual week. I can’t just write because I need to, so I had to find several hours, free from interruption or distraction. I already get up at 4:30 AM to watch a news program every weekday but didn’t think I could write that early in the morning. Staying late at work wouldn’t do, because I am worn out by the end of the day. I usually like to eat supper and do something brainless, like watching a Korean video (with subtitles) before going to bed.
I really wanted to go on that tour with Susan. We don’t get to do that much together, and it seemed to be bothering her. I also like having weekends off to rest and recuperate for the upcoming week. What made this a hard choice? In a decision between family and job, family should win, right?
This wasn’t such a clear-cut choice as that. The employee worked hard and really earned a great evaluation; my supervisor is on a well-deserved vacation but asked me to send her a draft of the evaluation, so she could help me make it better; and a senior manager wants to “look it over” to make sure the employee gets the credit she deserves. With all that pressure, I needed to make some progress! I didn’t want to work Sunday, because we would miss Church and our Pastor, and his wife (also our friends) will be leaving the country in a few weeks. Finally, I told Susan I had to work Saturday, and she should ask her friend to go on the tour with her. A deserving employee, a great supervisor, a respected senior manager, good friends, and an understanding wife helped me make my choice. That is how I wound up spending most of the day at work, while Susan was out having fun with her friends on a tour.
Though my choices don’t compare, they reminded me of the choices GOD made for us. “For GOD so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever lasting life (John 3:16).” GOD didn’t want to sacrifice His son but chose to do it for us. JESUS didn’t want to die on the cross but chose to obey the Father and do it for us. An all-powerful GOD, His sinless Son and a lost and dying world, helped them make their choices. Is it such a difficult choice for us to accept what they did for us?
Wayne Lance (2015) – That’s Good News to Share!