OUT TO PASTOR: Making decisions is the hardest part of my life

I still wrestle with decision-making. I admit that I often don’t make good decisions.

I’m not sure, so don’t repeat this, but I think The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage knows this and uses it to her advantage. How? I don’t know. She is the primary source behind my decision-making.

I hate choosing one thing over another when both things are good. That’s a bad part of life if you ask me.

Driving across town, I must decide whether to turn right or left. That’s not much of a decision-making process because I know where I’m going. If I make the right decisions while driving, I will get to where I need to be.

So, making decisions can be a real challenge for me.

For example, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage in the morning will ask me what I want for supper. I have not even had lunch yet, and now I am backed into a corner and have to make a decision about supper.

Usually, I respond by saying, “Whatever you would like to make for supper will be okay with me.” Then I smile because I don’t know what I am getting into. She has been making supper for me for over 53 years, and I have no complaints as of today.

Of course, there are those times when she asks me that question, and sometimes I will respond by saying, “Anything but broccoli.”

I need to be careful in this area because she is a vegetable aficionado in the strictest sense of the word. If it’s a vegetable, it’s on her menu, and it’s not even open for a decision.

I always wrestle with decisions, and by now, I should have perfected my decision-making skills. Just when I think I have, some decision comes before me that I have difficulty dealing with.

The other day, for example, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage was baking pies for some family get-together.

She came to my office, looked in, and asked, “Would you like a piece of pie?”

That’s not even in the decision category. So I answered, “Of course I do.”

“Okay,” she said, “which pie would you like? You can only have one piece.”

I asked her about the pies she was baking, and she said, “I have apple pie, lemon meringue pie, peach pie, coconut cream pie, and chocolate pie.”

That is not a decision-making venue. There is no way I can decide on one pie over five pieces of pie. No matter which pie I pick, I’m gonna love it, but I’m also going to wonder about the other pies that she has.

Pondering on that decision-making process, I looked at her and said, “I’m not sure which one I want; what would you recommend?”

Looking at me with a sly little grin, she said, “I’m not sure which one I would pick. They’re all very delicious, so it doesn’t matter which one you pick.”

That’s the problem with making a decision. When you make a decision, you eliminate everything else. If I decide on the pie that I’m going to eat at the time, it eliminates all the other pies that are on the table. 

As she was ready to leave my office, I stopped her and said, “I’ll take any pie you choose for me and bring it here.” Then I smiled.

I waited. And waited. And waited. She never came back with any pie for me. I had no idea what was wrong.

Finally, my nerves got the best of me, and I walked into the kitchen to find out what was happening.

There she was, sitting down at the table, eating a nice piece of pie. I looked at her. She looked back and smiled. Then I asked her, “So, where’s my pie?”

She looked at me, laughed, and said, “Since you could not make up your mind when I asked you, I just thought you didn’t want any pie.” Then she laughed some more.

I did not think that was funny, I walked over to the pies and carefully looked at them. Each one had its own aroma and I loved each one. 

Making decisions is very hard to do, at least for me especially when it comes to choosing my pie. No matter which pie I choose, I would love it, but then I would wonder about the pies I did not choose.

Life has its ups and downs.

When I have to make a decision about anything, a Bible verse comes to mind.

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

When I trust my understanding, I always fail in some degree. When I accept the fact that I don’t know everything, I then turn my trust to the Lord.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone is (352) 216-3025, e-mail is jamessnyder51@gmail.com, and website is www.jamessnyderministries.com