“Life is like a box of chocolates.”  Thanks Forrest for the thought here.

I sit here this morning looking at my box of chocolates.  I remember opening it up for the first time.  The plastic that surrounded my box was hard to break into.  But once the seal was broken the wonderful aroma of chocolate began to fill the air where I sat. 

I opened up the box to look at all of the choices that were before me.  I wish there had been a legend inside the box before I began to eat.  But there wasn’t.  So I began to pick and choose which ones I wanted to eat.  I could sort of tell which ones I was going to like and which ones I was not going to like.  Every once in awhile I would get suckered into biting into one that looked so appealing to me just to find out it had coconut in it… yuck!

As I sit here, I lookover this box of chocolate’s called life.  I can recall how in those early days how beautiful this box once was and all the choices that were before me.  I recall the feelings of excitement I had as I began to explore this box.  Now as I look at it, I see all of the empty wrappers and some of the choices I had made.  I recall some of those I ate that were very satisfying.  Some of them I had only taken one bite out of and put it back in the box… It’s not as pretty as before.  Sure I can close the box and still look good on the outside.  That will never be able to help how it really feels on the inside.

I came to know Jesus during the course of life.  He forgave the choices I had made in my life and wiped the slate of sin clean.  He filled my life with his Spirit and I began to walk differently.  The way I made choices began to change.  I still made some bad choices but He helped me understand what I had done so that I can grow from it.  The cool thing about it all is that each poor choice has now been filled with a memory – if handled correctly – that can be shared with someone else as they begin to open their box.

As for me, the choices are thinning out and life has pretty much set it’s course now.  There are a few options still left and much still to discover.  But the choices now are a little nerve racking.  As I want to make the most of every opportunity before me.  The feelings of apprehension rise.  I want to know the One who created me more than ever with each step I take in life now.

Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you . . . .’ ”

Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never. . . forsake you.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, June 5).