Making wise decisions

Do you ever find yourself revisiting decisions you've made in the past and wondering if it was the right decision? I usually don't just because by the time I actually decide something I am usually thoroughly convinced it was the right decision to make. Though occassionally I find myself pondering how different my life would be had I done a few things differently.

In high school when it came time to apply for colleges I hadn't really put much thought into where I would go. I always wanted to go to college but I never took the time to do research and figure out a good place for me to go. A lot of people I knew were going to be attending Sonoma state, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Diego State, but I didn't want to just follow the crowd to college. I had heard of Cal Baptist because my dad went there, I basically chose it because I knew I would get accepted and I figured I could walk on to their soccer and tennis teams. If I decided to go somewhere else I'm certain my life would be a lot different and probably a lot worse than it is now. I can't imagine not having the friendships I made at CBU and the learning/experiences that came while I was a student there. After a year at CBU I decided to quit playing soccer. It was a gut wrenching decision and to this day I still have doubts as to whether or not it was the right choice. I guess I could say that it didn't make much difference, that pretty much everything in my life would be about the same, but its hard for me to say that soccer was that inconsequential. I don't know if its because playing sports is frivolous and I don't want to give credit to the notion that all the years I spent practicing and playing was a waste. I'd be quicker to say that soccer became part of my identity and to give it up was like giving up a part of who I was.

Anyway, I'm sure you've all made decisions that you can look back on and question whether or not it was the right choice. I think what I take from this is how important it is to make the right decisions. I don't want to encourage some sort of "analysis paralysis", a term I use to describe those that can't seem to make a decision at all because all time is spent debating and considering information. As a Christian I would say my best course of action is to align my decisions with what God would like me to do. This isn't easy because the Bible doesn't always seem clear to me and prayer can be just as challenging, but I believe that if approached in earnest and with an openness to answer that I might not have considered or might not like, God will give me wisdom. This is a reliable to me because I believe that God loves me and knows everything I am capable of and how best to make my life worthwhile. For those that don't believe that I suppose the Bible and prayer aren't the best resource for good decision making and they have to rely on themselves.

Just something to think about.