Making Decisions

Jena Muhr enumerates the benefits of involving God in the decision-making process.

Every day I make what feels like a thousand decisions. Some are easily solved, like which yogurt to have for my breakfast and others are the bane of my existence, the dreaded “what’s for dinner?” decision comes to mind. Whether they are big or small, decisions are a part of our lives and shape the life we lead.

For Catholics, a firm belief and trust in God is supposed to be the basis of our decision-making. For me, the belief part of this equation is easy. My faith in God is something that I depend on and, in all honesty, don’t question all that much. The second half of the equation, trust, is something that I struggle with so much more. This does not come naturally to me, and I often will say in prayer “God, I trust that you will help me make the right decision.” But then 20 minutes later I will pick the same decision back up and will try and solve it again and again, not keeping my prayer of trust in God’s guidance.

This is not to say that with every decision that arises I will fall on my knees and wait for divine inspiration. The approach to the problem will often be as varied as the decision to be made. Here is an example: when deciding on a pediatrician for my children, I prayed that I would find a good one for my children and family. I went online and looked at doctors who are available through my insurance, within an area that I am able to easily travel for the odd ear infection or stubborn cough. From there, I asked around to see if any other families in my circle had any recommendations.

I then made the best decision with the information I had available. My trust in God was there from the beginning; because I started the process with a prayer, the process went smoothly. I love my children’s pediatrician: unbeknownst to me at the time I initially met her, she is very well respected and is a big supporter of our local Catholic community.

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Sometimes a simple prayer is not enough to keep the trust process going. When my husband and I were looking for a larger home to raise our family in, we started with a prayer and a lot of online looking. After a few months of home tours, denied offers, and frustration, that trust was waning. I kickstarted the trust with a novena to St. Joseph to guide our home buying process. A few months after completing the novena we had an offer accepted, but it didn’t feel right. The inspection report didn’t come back supporting the price that we were paying with the repairs that were needed to make the home safe. Our families were not fully supportive of the decision to buy that house, either.

We backed out of the sale. A couple of weeks after that, we had another offer accepted. The home has been a huge blessing for our family; it is close to church, in a safe neighborhood, and has enough projects to keep my husband busy for a long time (something he really enjoys). God and St. Joseph saved us from a poor decision and led us to a home that we had not even thought to hope for.

If I am being honest, my process is not always so faith-filled and spiritual. Even when practicing trust and faith, it can be very difficult to make decisions in trust. I take many decisions upon myself without trusting in God’s grace; I will struggle with those. I will lose sleep for days trying to figure it out or will struggle to let go of the situation even after I have made the decision.

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Coming to a good decision is easiest and most fulfilling when the process starts with a prayer. #catholicmom

The “correct” decision is often something that does not exist; there is only the best decision that you can make with the information that you have available. Coming to that decision, in my experience, is easiest and most fulfilling when the process starts with a prayer. It is not something that can be forced or coerced but something that comes from trusting that God will guide the process and the end result.

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