Making Tough Decisions
By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams
I’ve recently had to make a pretty big decision. It was big to me, although in the scope of my entire life, it would seem inconsequential. I actually struggled for weeks with this. I declined something I thought I was being called to do. But when I look back, this decision had been there all along.
When this opportunity first presented itself, I was gung ho. But in the back of my mind I was hearing, wait, the timing isn’t right. But I didn’t heed that voice. I just went headlong and even talked about it with enthusiasm. All the while, that Voice was imploring me to wait. (Psalm 27:14)
Life Goes On
Fast forward about two months. We moved into our new condo in North Carolina. Sad thing is, the reno wasn’t finished. We lived surrounded by boxes, and so many workers we lost count, for an entire month. This hadn’t been the plan at all. We unpacked what we needed in order to survive for that month, but many things had to wait. I continued to feel uneasy about this event, yet I took no action. I must confess, at this point, I hadn’t even prayed about it.
By then end of February, we headed back to Florida and our little villa there. Let’s just suffice it to say that for many different reasons, we found ourselves burning up the highway between North Carolina and Florida for the better part of the first, almost five, months of the year. When you’re traveling that much, you don’t get a whole lot of time to devote to the things that matter to you. They were shoved to the backburner to make way for more pressing matters. In the meantime, I continued to ignore the niggling at the back of my mind. And life went on.
Interruptions
My husband and I love sharing our home with our friends and family. Our doors are always open to them. When we came up at the end of April we were thrilled to have J’s sisters and their husbands stay with us for a few days. We hadn’t seen the younger of his sisters in over five years. She and her husband live in Athens, Greece, Bill’s homeland. Last week I told you about our time together. We had a wonderful time catching up on family events both here and abroad. We’re all getting older and these times are more special to us now than ever before.
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While we were all visiting and getting reacquainted, I was still being pulled to make that decision. I knew I needed to let people know, but time got away from me. It didn’t help any that I was very sick for an entire week, unable to think clearly enough to get any writing done or to prepare for an upcoming writing conference. This decision loomed heavy on my mind. At this point, I asked God what He wanted me to do. I prayed earnestly. (Psalm 119:66)
Decision Made
Finally, last night (May 13) I knew what I had to do. I sent an email saying I would be unable to participate in something I felt would be a huge blessing to me. Yet, almost immediately, I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. Intuitively, I knew that this was what I should have done from day one.
For whatever reason that He alone knows, God simply said wait (Psalm 27:14). Signs had been everywhere, and in my mind and heart, I knew I should be paying attention. But I so wanted to participate, I ignored that Still Small Voice for weeks.
As difficult as this was, I know this was the right decision for now. I’m sure there will be another opportunity to participate in this event. I’m trusting God to open that door when the timing is right for me.
How do you handle tough decisions? Do you always heed that Still Small Voice or do you sometimes ignore it? Share your thoughts with us.
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