Why do humans take ‘choice’ for granted, or do they? The ability to choose is so essential that Pediatricians look for it in very young infants. During an examination, a nurse will show the baby a photo of their mother, among other portraits. The child may smile, then move on, scanning recognizable faces until they find a new face. If the child lingers too long on their mother or fails to see their mother, the medical staff will follow a protocol to diagnose the issue. As children grow, choices and the subsequent consequences help them adjust to their expanding world.

 

Humans have an incredible capacity to categorize and store experiences, forgetting some and remembering others. We’re not alone; every mammal species makes choices. I owned a Wyoming cattle ranch long enough to discover that lumbering bovines also collect data and make choices. One day, I watched a cow wandering away from a hayfield, having decided to investigate a nearby alfalfa field. As she plodded toward it, a few cows joined her. Soon, the entire herd wandered, individually and in small
groups, behind the cow and her companions. However, a gate and fence blocked her entry into the field. She studied her options and then wandered back to where she began. Every cow in the herd followed her example. They reached the field, examined the possibility of getting in, and then wandered back to
where they began.

Our choices are vastly more complex because we were made in God’s image, especially his gift of speech. This sacred gift opened a trove of choices that the curious cow lacked. We create and file
memories in cerebral libraries to retrieve them when needed. Unfortunately, these repositories of comedy and tragedy can choke our hearts when employed against us or others. To survive, we lock the library doors and assure ourselves that, though we aren’t perfect, we aren’t alone in our imperfections. But such is life. What choice do we have? None, right?

 

Thus, we forge onward alone against the odds until our hearts hear God’s gentle voice singing from Song of Songs,

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“Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away,
“for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.
“The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come,
“and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”

 

Song of Songs 2:10b-12 (ESV)

 

Unfortunately, until we hear our sweet Lord singing as he sits in radiant glory, surrounded by servants who need neither the sun nor moon to worship him or the Lamb, we’re stuck here, leaning on
Jesus who humbled himself and walked among us, loving us and warning us to catch the foxes, the little sins that spoil our vineyards. Song of Songs 2:15.

 

After dozens of little foxes breathed misery and misunderstanding into Cameron Asher and Lydia Carpenter’s lives in East of Midnight, faith and hope returned and chased the foxes away, but only for a while. In Choices & Secrets, God sends Lois Carpenter and Abe Chansonne to share God’s love song with the Asher, Sloane, and Duncan families even after a cruel, revenge-fueled man thrust a young woman, Carli Vickers, into their lives, thus reviving ancient hatreds, meanness, and lost loves. As the venom spreads, diluting God’s message of love, Lois, Abe, and others repeat God’s invitation: “Come,” and his warning, “Beware of the little foxes.” As sin dredges up secrets and wreaks havoc, the Holy Spirit sings into their misery, “Arise and come.”