The Next Right Choice

By Rachel Mitchell

Insta | Facebook

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I remember so clearly, in 2014, sitting with my finger hovering over the “submit” button on a new workout program I was buying, which no one knew about, and praying, “God is this really gonna work?” I was almost immune to the attempts to overhaul my diet and health. I was tired. I was worried. I was weary. 

I don’t know if that workout program/plan was the thing, but I do know that small choice led to a domino effect of others that have changed my life. No, actually, I know that program wasn’t it. God was leading me into new territory that was going to force me to fully rely on Him alone!  

Why was I scared? I was a young mom of two precious boys whom I loved very much. They watched my every move and depended on me for almost everything. I was a wife of ten years with a saint of a husband, and my health and hormones were slowly stealing the joy of our marriage. My cholesterol was higher than ever, and I did NOT want to return to taking statins.  It all just felt overwhelming in a way it never had before. Until I read one simple verse.  

“You have circled this mountain long enough, now turn North.” Deuteronomy 2:3

I am sure I had read that verse countless times, but from my current life situation, it simplified things so much for me.  Circling a mountain of self-defeat is hard in the beginning, but eventually it becomes comfortable.. Easy.  While I wasn’t a drug addict or squandering all our money on gambling, I was daily making little decisions that were destroying my health and affecting my most important relationships. Each small decision to binge eat, order fast food again, stay up late binge watching Netflix and waking up cranky and stressed, it was all adding up. 

Yet, with this simple verse, God showed me that I could do the same thing with good habits. “Now turn North.” By no means was it easy, but it made sense!  Starting with one small decision at a time, I started to erase old habits and build new ones that were in alignment with where I wanted to go.  I stopped driving by the donut shop every morning and made a protein shake or oats instead. I gave up Netflix on weeknights and started reading personal development instead. I woke up earlier and reached for my Bible instead of my phone or the snooze button. I added more veggies to my meals and stopped buying the candy I hid in the freezer. 

Without a doubt, it was imperfect. Old habits die hard. I am sure you know that.  But God just kept telling me, “Make the next right choice, Rachel.” And here I am, 11 years later, doing the same thing.  My hormones are improved; my cholesterol is perfect and unmedicated; my relationships are stronger, and my example for my now teenage boys feels stronger.  All because of one next right choice after another. 

Here’s to a million more next right choices with the Lord as my guide and the world in my rearview!  

By Rachel Mitchell  Follow More: Insta  | Facebook