I watched as a large group was seated at a nearby table in a restaurant where I was having lunch. As the guests studied the menu, the waitress asked, “Can I get you something to drink?”

Coke…water…coffee…nothing for me was some of the responses and as she left to fill the drink order, decisions were made about what to order from the menu.

“Is everyone ready to order?” As the waitress jotted down orders she presented each guest with a number of different choices.

What kind of bread, do you want soup or salad, which dressing do you prefer or how would you like that done? There were choices about side dishes, toasted or not toasted, desserts and whether one check or separate checks were needed.

The six people seated at the lunch table all made choices; some the same, but more often very different from others. That’s a lot like life. Every day is a soup or salad day filled with a host of choices that only we can make and the consequences of those choices are sometimes out of our control.

If you order a well-done burger and the short order cook prepares it medium, you must make another choice; eat the burger or send it back. Or, the chicken soup ordered turns out to be a bowl of clam chowder.

The table of life offers an endless number of soup or salad choices; some good, some not and some that are simply out of our control. And then enters Jesus with His mercy, grace and love. He takes control of our choices and works all things for our good if we consult with Him about our life choices and commit our ways to Him.

“And we know that for those who love God, that is, for those who are called according to his purpose, all things are working together for good.” Romans 8:28