I won’t forget that Christmas.
I was a junior in college and working nights at UPS. That Christmas my family was going to Arkansas to see my grandparents and other relatives. For some reason, which I do not remember, I decided to stay home and not go with them. They left several days before Christmas. I worked all night at UPS each night while they were gone until Christmas Eve. I was off both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I was home alone both days. I soon realized what a big mistake I had made. I could not believe I had not gone with my family to Arkansas. I was aggravated that I had made such a decision. I also felt silly. This was another decision I had made without thinking through the consequences. In those years, I seemed to make such decisions far too often.
While I was home that Christmas, I thought about my life, my decisions, and my future. Those two days turned out to be a milestone for me. I wrote my thoughts in a notebook. Years later, I still have this notebook.
Some of the conclusions I reached:
1. No one was holding their breath waiting to see what I was going to do with my life. Most people had enough of their own problems to worry about.
2. I could continue to not put forth my best effort in some of my classes at the university but I was only hurting myself.
3. I could learn from some of the frustrations I had experienced or I could let these frustrations become excuses.
4. My future could be better but I would need to make better decisions.
5. Much of the work I needed to do in my life was relational. I needed to learn how to invest in people and get my focus off myself.
In many ways, those two days were decisive.
I came away from those two days more focused on the future than I had been. Consequently, I began to make better decisions in the present. What about you? Can you point to a time when you thought through the direction of your life and as a result found much clarity?
To answer the question, my journey seems to have been clarity finding me. I have moments when it was so clear, it was like God was writing it down for me and my family. All that for me was to make a decision (or the clarity solidified the decision). I also find it interesting that you speak of finding focus after being alone. Silence and hours alone can be quite enlightening. We don’t get nearly as much as we need, wouldn’t you say?
Mike, I agree that silence and hours alone can be enlightening and can often provide great clarity. You are so right. Most of us probably don’t get as much as we need. The lack of silence and the constant busyness and noise really does catch up with us eventually.