Amidst the many great poems quoted throughout the movie, the one that stood out to me most the first time I watched the film was a quote from the Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken."
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Beautiful words. Words that have rung in my ears over the years as I've hiked the hills of northern Michigan and the mountains of northern California. And they've been just as inspiring in the figurative sense, encouraging me to take chances and risks in life decisions, to explore new opportunities I've never experienced before.
But, see, there's one little problem I have when it comes to my ability to take the road less traveled: I want to take both roads! I want to know where both roads lead. I want to know why people seem to prefer one over the other. I want to know what's around each of those next bends. Which is why I am horrible at making decisions.
Growing up, I would spend every second I could squeeze out of my parents standing before the LEGO shelves at a toy store, trying to decide which set to spend my hard earned cash on. When I pull up at a drive through, I sometimes panic when that speaker voice is actually prompt and ready to take my order the moment I pull up. And it's worse with the life decisions that actually matter (if I order a cheese burger, then decide as I'm eating it that I was actually in the mood for chicken nuggets, that's not too tough to get over).
A little over two years ago, the opportunity arose for me to move to Atlanta. It kind of snuck up on me and caught me off guard, as I had fully expected to spend a third year living at home after I graduated from college. I had no money to move, I had peace at last at the thought of another year at home (those first two years, I would have given just about anything to be somewhere else...but that's another story for another entry), and so the idea of moving to Atlanta in less than a week caught me rather by surprise, and it took three days full of prayer, long hikes, and a couple of podcasted sermons to convince myself that it was a risk worth taking.
I'm not saying that's bad. I think I'd be more concerned with my decision making process if I made choices like that without those days to pray and process things, because not thinking things through can lead to some disastrous consequences. But there are definitely times when I know I take too long to make a decision because I want to know ahead of time what each possibility holds.
The worst is when I find myself faced with a choice and I can't figure out which possibility is "God's will for my life." I put that in quotes, because it's a question any Christian attempting to grow in their walk with God will probably ask plenty. "What is God's will for my life/for this situation?"
"God, should I move to this other city, or would you rather I stay where I am right now?"
"God, should I take this job, because it's the only offer I have right now, or do you want me to work somewhere else and if I'll just have the faith to wait a bit longer, you'll bring it along soon after I turn the other company down?"
"God, should I buy a house or rent an apartment? And in which neighborhood?"
"God, is this the church you'd like me to get involved in? Or should I keep searching for a better church?"
"God, is this the person you want me to pursue toward marriage? Or should I just keep it at friendship because you've got someone better for the both of us, and pursuing this person would just screw up a perfectly good friendship?"
"God, should I order Chinese food or go with leftovers for dinner?"
Tough questions (most of them). And there are plenty more just like them. How do you know which is the direction God wants you to go and which is a quick bullet train to Heck? (over-exaggeration? what? what was that? what about grace? who's she?)
I have to admit, I'm no expert at figuring out the will of God for my own life. It's tough (though I do sometimes think maybe I make it tougher than it's supposed to be). But then if it were easy, what would we really learn from it?
I wish I had more answers to give or suggestions to make, but I'm still learning myself. But here are two things I do take into consideration when I find myself faced with a tough choice and a desire to do God's will: which direction looks easier, and which one do I feel more peace about? Whichever path looks easiest, chances are it's not the road I should take. Following God is rarely an easy road to travel, so if one path looks like smooth sailing, really question whether it's the one you should take. And consider which direction you feel more peace about pursuing. I find this one to be tougher to discern, because there are definitely times God calls us just to step out in faith without much instruction, and it's hard to feel peace during those times, but our God is the God of Peace. He isn't going to fill you with worries as you seek to follow Him; He's going to give you the peace to overcome those worries and the strength and the courage to trust in Him and follow wherever it is He is leading, no matter how difficult the road may appear. Think about Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego; they found themselves faced with the decision to either worship a statue or die in a blazing furnace. It's pretty easy to figure out which choice would be the easy, sensible thing to do; I mean, who really wants to be thrown into a furnace alive? But would that be the wise thing to do, the right thing, the thing God calls us to do? Hecks no. So what do they do? They choose the furnace. And while they might have been sweating bullets well before they were led anywhere near that inferno for all I know, if they were their words don't give it away. Here is their response:
"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Dan. 3:16-18).
They knew God could rescue them from that furnace and bring them out alive, but they even admit they don't actually know if He will! "But even if he does not..." They chose the road no one else was traveling, and they did it with confidence, even though they knew death was still a possibility.
I wish I always felt that kind of peace when I'm following God. I've definitely felt peace, but I'll admit there are definitely anxieties and unanswered questions playing in my head, nagging at me to give them attention and start worrying instead of trusting that God has it under control. It's not easy, but then no one ever said life would be. And I'm glad, because it's been my experience that when things are easy, when I do take that road more often traveled, I don't learn as much, the adventure doesn't feel as real, and I usually end up going back to that fork in the road in the end and taking the other path anyway.
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