Conversations on Choice

Dan Allender, in his book The Wounded Heart, writes “Abuse strips a person of the freedom to choose”.

Conversations often drift to the discussion of choices – what we do or do not choose, when those choices are made and what results.

We recently had a group here of women who became mothers in their early teens. They sat by the fire drinking lattes and sharing their stories. We do not know their stories but we do know that the sacred space in the Great Room holds the honor of knowing secrets were held in the Light and healing balm was applied.

As I made breakfast one morning, a young lady came for her first cup of coffee and stayed to chat. She spoke of choosing to conceive a child and to raise this little one but her reasons were not the wisest. This remark continues to sit in my heart.

The heart knows what it wants and will continue to ask for it. Yet distortions of truth, lies, abuse, and wounding may have the answer to the heart desire being filled in a way that may seem to be a strange choice. The Lover of our soul continues to pursue us and our heart continues to seek what it really desires. The Liar continues to discount Truth and paint contempt across the Lover’s words to hide them. Is it possible that our heart is always seeking Truth but at the cross roads in life the Liar switches the road signs and we choose the “less than” as opposed to the “greater than” way?

I was discussing this with Gwen today: Choosing to move out of situations is so hard because of this loss of freedom. If we put that into our work with DTES it gives just one more clue as to why it is hard to move out of those places. But it also makes me aware of how important the word Choose becomes in walking towards freedom with others. Reassuring them that they can choose, speaking truth into the lie that has removed the freedom to choose.
Her reply to this conversation was we see how the constant giving to them in the DTES can also in an overt way take away their power to choose. It is just given and expected and in some ways takes away choice. It is a fine line between equipping people to choose and enabling them not to choose.

No matter what we choose, within Abba’s circle of Grace there is the unfailing and unending love that always chooses to pursue us with Truth.

Speaking of choosing – I am choosing a steaming cup of latte right now because the heating system is down and we have no hot water and no heat!