Occasionally I like to go to Starbucks in the morning.
The one in our town is situated kinda funny. Cars coming into the parking lot from three different directions have to jockey for position in the drive-through lane. In addition to that, any car trying to get out of the parking lot is often blocked by the incoming cars.
There is an easier choice. Park in the wide open parking space less than a 30-second walk away from all this.
No one seems to make this choice.
At first I thought this was just cold weather. Perhaps people don't want to get out of their warm car and have to walk in the cold.
But the other day the morning was sunny and warm. I pulled up, parked my car in the nearby parking lot and walked the 30 seconds into the Starbucks. Although there was the same cluster of cars outside, I walked right up to the counter (no line) and ordered my coffee. Hassle free I went back to my car and left. As I did, one car was actually honking at another to move out of the way!
I think people just get caught in a rut sometimes. We don't see that just because we've been doing something one way for a long time, it is not always the way that makes the most sense. Now, when it comes to Starbucks, that's not such a big deal. When it comes to how we live our lives, we really need to ask ourselves why we make the choices we do.
There are many choices we make in this life. Reading the Word of God points us to a way that avoid the cluster and the horns, although it may take us out of our comfort zone at times. Let's stay open to new ways of doing things!
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)
