Another question from a young seminarian

Here is another question from a young seminarian, whose questions I am answering in this blog.

YS: I seem to have a couple different possible opportunities and directions for my future. I am eager to pick one and go in that direction, but it is a tough decision. I hate this ambiguity. I just want to move forward. How do I know what to choose?

Mike: Ah yes, opportunity. You have so much possibility ahead of you. And you have so much energy. I can understand an eagerness to get a direction. You are visionary, passionate and motivated--all very good characteristics.

Yet that same vision, passion and motivation can cause you to get into a hurry and miss the turn God has for you. In a rush you may end up like a car that is speeding so fast down the road that it misses the important exit for the true route to its destination and as a result ends up in a very bad place. I have heard: “A student in a hurry, learns slowly.” I have found that when I get in a rush, I miss nuances that are important.

Bobby Clinton claims that in the first half of adult life what is most important is what God is doing in you. He is using that time and circumstances to prepare you for what He will do through you especially in the second half of adulthood. That is a hard concept to accept--that when you are between 20 and 40 anything you are involved in is for the purpose of God developing you, even when you think you are doing some great thing. So go slow enough for God’s signs to catch your eye and for you to make that turn that gives you some big growth. These opportunities are really about your growth any-way.

At one time, I believe I was in my mid 30s I felt like I was waiting. Some opportunities crossed my path. If I did not jump, the window of opportunity would soon close. My spiritual director gave me some advice that was hard to hear, but that I needed to hear. Her advice was to keep saying “no” until you hear a clear “yes” from God. It is hard to wait, but I think that is very good advice.

So live in the gray area and hold both opportunities in your hand as loosely as you can, as long as you can, until you hear a clear “yes” from God for one or the other. If you do not hear a clear “yes” from God for either, then maybe He has a third option and you will need to say “no” to both.