Decisions | 100 Words

The Blessing of Showing Up

August 15th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

If you don’t go, you won’t have the story to tell.

The advice above resonated with me because I’m an introvert in a family of introverts. Not only do I have to convince myself to show up, but I have to convince others.

I’m usually glad when I go and regret the times I don’t, but one place I didn’t want to be brought a story I have told.

During August 2003, my mother was in intensive care. Hard, necessary decisions about her care had to be made. I didn’t want to be present at those conversations. I didn’t want others, known to be contentious and irrational, to be present either. Cowardly, I prayed that God would remove the situation. My back up prayer was that if I went, others wouldn’t. God said no to both.

I expected maturity from one relative and received more. He showed wisdom and backed it with Scripture. The usually difficult relatives were thoughtful and respected others’ opinions. My mother’s doctor gave a perspective I have thought about repeatedly and seen to be correct. The unexpected, sweet unity was a blessing that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. A story worth showing up to receive.

Decisions, God's Faithfulness

Enjoying the Story

July 4th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

I have told you that my mom reads the last chapter of the book so she can enjoy the story because she knows how it ends. When we were kids, she went to the computer in the middle of a movie to find out how it ended.
My son

I’m guilty as charged. I claim I’ve run out of adrenaline or else I need to save it because my supply is short. That may be true. I didn’t read the last chapter of books when I was young.

Twenty years ago, I stood with my oldest sons for a for a high school graduation photo. I thought, “I wish I had known how it would turn out. I wouldn’t have worried so much.”

As I turn sixty-nine, I want to apply the lesson of fiction to my real life. I want to enjoy my story and the stories of others much more because I know the ending.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Revelation 21:3 (ESV)

Decisions, God's Faithfulness, Relationships

A Time For Pity

May 30th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

Pity: sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed or unhappy.
Merriam-Webster

For too long, I’ve born the consequences of the foolish actions of a middle-aged woman. Frustrated, I complained again.

Mollie, she doesn’t know her right hand from her left.
My Husband

He was right. She didn’t, and what did God do with a great city of evildoers who did not know their right from their left?

And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left …
Jonah 4:11 (ESV)

Unlike me, instead of lamenting the Ninevites’ lack of knowledge and listing the reasons why they should know better, God had pity. He took action to correct the situation. I may not be the one to correct, but I can have pity.

Decisions, Relationships

Planning Ahead

April 18th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring …
James 4: 13-14a

I’m an economist, so I know profits are unpredictable. I don’t depend on economic certainty. However, I wish I had known that as my peers and I age, too much becomes unpredictable. Right now, I have unkept promises to others. You know who you are. Please know you are not forgotten..

I have outstanding invitations to my home. Crises intervened, and when the dust settled, I found myself exhausted. Both an excuse and a reality.

Repeatedly, I announced “This is the year of Christmas card.” It didn’t happen for five years. During that time, two friends passed and three sold their homes, so cards were returned undelivered.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34 (ESV)

Do not be anxious is familiar. What I’m learning along the way is Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Decisions

Living By The Clock

February 28th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

Try setting your timer for five minutes.
Siri Suggestion

My husband laughed when Siri’s suggestion appeared on his smartwatch. I googled to learn about Siri suggestions. I found that Siri suggests what to do next based on routines and app usage. (Siri also suggests whom to invite to parties.)

While recovering from knee surgery, I was to walk five minutes per hour. I was to ice my knee for five minutes followed by five minutes of heat and a final five minutes of ice. Exercises and medicines had their allotted times. Recovery felt like a fulltime job living by the clock.

As to be expected from the above regiment, my husband regularly set his watch timer for five minutes. When he hadn’t one day, Siri noticed and nudged him. We weren’t off our routine but rather less stringent.

Living by the clock was annoying at best. However, all requirements needed for a successful recovery were met. Before Siri’s suggestion, I had pondered how many neglected emails and phone calls might be finished if I set a timer to meet a goal.

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. William Penn