Be Careful How You Walk

I was supposed to be in Cuba this week. In fact, until Saturday afternoon, I was planning on boarding a plane this morning. Saturday, that’s when I remembered… I mailed my passport to DC last week. I am traveling to Liberia later this fall and needed to apply for a visa. I got my shots, filled out my paperwork, went to FedEx, and off went my visa application and passport. Only problem was I was only thinking about Liberia at that moment. It didn’t register with me that in less then 10 days I was traveling to Cuba and would need that passport to go on the trip.

By the time I realized what I had done it was too late, all the offices were closed for the weekend. And the reality hit me – I am not going to Cuba. Why? Because I didn’t completely think through my steps. I made one move without considering how that would affect other areas of my life. And even though I really, really wanted to go to Cuba, even though I had planned everything else, my one action prevented me from going.

I have been thinking a lot about Psalm 1 and the person who is full of God’s wisdom. The picture of the wise man is contrasted with a wicked man. The wise man is grounded in God’s word, but the foolish man is on a different path. Instead of choosing the blessings God offers, verse 1 says he walks in the counsel of the wicked, stands in the path of sinners, and sits in the seat of the scoffers. In other words – he is on the wrong path!

Often we follow in the steps of this foolish man. We get our advice from the wrong source, we speak poorly of others, we think negative thoughts, and we focus on achieving our own desires. And we don’t realize that each step, each thought, each action has consequences. In the moment we don’t see how this one area or this small thing makes a difference. But no choice is isolated. One area of our life affects every area of our life. Just like my passport mistake. Even though I didn’t consider the impact it would make, the impact was still there. Sure, I didn’t feel it immediately – for days I kept right on planning my trip thinking I was going to Cuba. But regardless of how I felt or what I was planning, the truth was my action had a big consequence.

Be careful how you walk. The path you choose in every area of your life matters. Consider your actions, because what you choose today is setting your path for tomorrow.

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To learn more about my Liberia trip, you can visit https://amberparker.net/?page_id=289.

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How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3 NASB

For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind.
Hosea 8:7a NASB