Last week’s sermon at our church began with a Winston Churchill quote:  “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”  It’s a great quote, and I’ve been thinking that this doesn’t just apply to buildings.  For instance, we shape (choose) our food; then it shapes us.  We shape our days; then they shape us.  The long and short of it is, we make our choices, and then they make us.

Our choices not only reflect who we are, they actually impact who we become in the future.

What brought this to mind is the realization that my current work has pushed me toward a prayer life.  I’ve always wanted more of a prayer life, and more of a prayerful posture toward life.  And suddenly I realize that I pray more than I used to.   Not because I consciously made a decision to really develop a prayer life right now, but because the nature of my work drives me to prayer.

I made a vocational choice toward what felt like both a calling and a longing, and that choice has begun to form me in ways I hadn’t expected.  I knew I wanted to develop and use some of my best and deepest gifts in a more intentional way.  What I did not know was that in doing so, I would be pushed toward fulfilling another longing — a longing for a more prayerful approach to my life.  It was a wonderful realization.

What are some of the choices before you right now?  How do they reflect who you are?  And how might they impact who you become tomorrow?