Mike and I have learned a lot about decision making over the years. From the decision to keep dating (he was a bit slow moving at the beginning and I told him to get going or I was done - I'm subtle like that), to the decision to get married, the decision to get a puppy (I'll talk about that one in a later post, we love her but that decision was not our best discerned decision), and now the decision about grad school. One of the biggest lessons we have learned is the importance of the brains God blessed us with in our decision making process.
Before you worry and think that we cut God out of our decision making process and rely too heavily on ourselves I want to calm your fears and assure you that we most definitely seek God and his will from beginning to end. However, what we have found is that often times the way God gives us answers about big decisions is by providing guidance and confirmation during our decision making process. We hit our knees and pray fervently that God will give us guidance and direction, then we get up and use the resources God has gifted us with to make a decision. God always shows up in big ways as we move through the process. Sometimes things make no sense on paper - we do all of our analysis and arrive at the conclusion that a particular option makes no logical sense but God keeps placing it on our hearts to move forward with that option, and so we do. Other times, God provides us with abounding peace and clarity on the option that falls in the middle of the pack. And sometimes, every once in a while, the decision that makes the most logical sense is also the decision God is leading us toward.
Regardless of the final answer Mike and I always keep one question at the top of our minds, "What story do we want to tell?" When our kids ask us about our engagement period what story do we want to tell them? That we were so impatient to get married that we ran down to the court house and got married (we did not, but the thought crossed our minds more times than I can count) or that it was a very difficult and tempting seven months but we sacrificed for each other because we love each other so much? When people ask us about grad school what story do we want to share? That we sought after human goals and achievements or that we ran after God and he led us down a path that we were not expecting but we obeyed?
God grants us amazing resources to help us discern his will. There is community, research and analysis, prayer, and so much more. Mike and I have used all of these things as we move forward with grad school. I have multiple spreadsheets and a decision matrix (yes, I know that you are judging me...but I could not stop myself). I have read every word on every page on every website associated with every school I am applying to. Mike and I have brought our journey to our small group from the very beginning and allowed them to speak into our decision making process. We welcome Godly correction but we also need encouragement as we walk down this road. It is not always easy and we know full well that if God is leading us to Chicago, as we think He may be doing, then the road will become much more difficult before it gets any easier. At the end of the day, we know that God has brought us together in marriage and it is ultimately up to the two of us to make the right decision for our little family.
Decision matrix - it's real.
Will you join us in prayer? Pray for peace, wisdom, and guidance in our decision making process. Pray for unity together. Pray that if we do not have unity that I will have the humility to submit to my husband. Pray that God's name will be glorified and magnified through this process. Pray that we can hear God's voice clearly and that his plan will be abundantly obvious to us. Pray that we will have the courage to walk down the path God is calling us to.
God never says that life will be easy or glamorous. In fact, He promises exactly the opposite - life will be difficult, we will be ridiculed and cast off. But take heart, the world did these things and so much worse, to our Jesus - we are not alone and He is with us through every step. And even better, we are promised eternal salvation, an eternity lived in the presence of our great God but we must obey and have relationship with Him here on Earth. We are on this Earth for a purpose and then we will be gone, like a vapor. The momentary troubles are worth eternity with Him.
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