A Matter of Choice

Would you rather be A) healthy B) rich C) powerful D) perfect?

If life were a multiple-choice quiz, I would pick A. At least, I think so. What if life really is like a quiz? What if every day I am actually taking that very quiz and choosing a different answer than A?

For example, what about the choice of what I should eat for breakfast? If I were making health a priority I might pick whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter. If money were my focus, I might choose Lucky Charms because they were on sale the last week. If my goal was to feel in control I might drink coffee. If I was attempting perfection I might skip breakfast altogether because I’m just too busy getting everything else in order.

Behind the question of what I should eat for breakfast is the question—what is my priority? I do want to be healthy, but do I want something else more? Perhaps I have a goal that dominates my life and I’m not even aware of it. I might be trying to be such a perfect mom that I don’t have enough time for exercise or eating when I should. I might be spending my money trying to keep up with my rich friends, which means I probably won’t have enough left for eating healthy.

My goal this year is to be healthy and to make the decisions needed to become so. Five months ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, and certainly he has become my first priority. My two-year-old daughter is right there with him. For their sakes and my own, I want to live healthy and teach them healthy living. I want to look at my daily decisions and ask myself, am I choosing health? If I want to be healthy and if I want my family to be healthy, I can make that my choice.