Have you ever been torn, wanted to be in two places at the same time? Well, I sure have, and it seems to be happening every fall now. 

My wife, Lily, and I closed up our cottage earlier than ever this year. For several years we closed it the week after Canadian Thanksgiving, the second Sunday in October. But the last few years it’s been the first weekend in October. This year it was the last few days of September. 

That seems crazy early to me, especially when the sun is shining and it’s still 23 degrees Celsius during the day. When you can walk on the beach and be greeted by a sunset like this picture almost every night, it’s tough to leave it all behind.

My first impulse is to squeeze every ounce of summer-like weather out of the fall and there is no better place to be for that than at our cottage.

It should be a simple decision of when the weather starts to turn, you close up and say goodbye until the spring. 

I remember going to college in another province and when school ended I had no problem packing up my belongings and turning my back on Regina for the summer. But there was really nothing to keep me there, nothing I felt I would be missing out on when I left. 

Leaving my cottage behind is a different story. 

I want to be there. I like the relaxed atmosphere of a beach town, the walks on the sand and up the strip, maybe with a stop at the ice cream shop for a scoop of black cherry on a sugar cone.

Though I want to be there, and though I miss so much there, home is calling and I also want to be there. 

Much of what is happening at home could wait till the weather turns sour at Sauble. But one thing at home seems to be starting earlier and earlier. 

It’s hockey season. 

Though the NHL season doesn’t start until the first week of October, my hockey starts the first week of September. And to make matters worse, the OHL Kingston Frontenacs team that I’m the chaplain of start tryouts and preseason at the end of August. 

I feel torn between being home and being at the cottage because if I’m enjoying an incredible sunset I’m also missing out on playing hockey with my team. 

Have you ever had to choose like that? … Suppose you were with your family for the weekend, let’s just say Thanksgiving weekend. You’re having a good time with everyone; everything is going well.

Then on the last day you get a text. You had planned a family pickleball match before everyone went their separate ways. However, the text is an invitation to watch a Toronto Blue Jays playoff game … sitting in box seats. 

Now that’s being torn. Do you bail on the family game and go to the Blue Jays game. Or do you say no to the tickets? 

Tough decision, right? 

Well, that’s how I was torn between the cottage and home. Hockey won, that’s all I can say. 

Here’s the thing: God wants you to be part of His family for all eternity. But it comes with a choice. By faith will you believe that Jesus died and rose again to pay for your sins, or will you trust in your own self for your future? You may be torn in making that decision, but eternity is a long time. For me, being part of God’s family is the best choice to make. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are the big choices you are torn between making? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email inbox.