Words from WW Blog

My cell phone often chimes with an incoming call, and an unrecognizable number appears on the screen. Sometimes, the screen tells me that the call is coming from Way-Over-There, Wisconsin, with the warning “Scam Likely” below it. I don’t answer it. I figure that if it’s that important, and I don’t know who it is, they’ll leave a message.

Oh, that life would be that easy in our ability to discern whether a call, a decision, or a nudging is something we should pursue or delete.

Like a writer friend of mine who was approached by someone interested in turning one of his novels into a movie. The offer was enticing until, on the second call, he was told that he’d need to front several thousand dollars to get the project off the ground. Or when I finished my first novel in my RED HOT: NEW LIFE IN FLEMING series, and someone from a vanity press contacted me. The excitement of having someone want to publish my novel was intoxicating. But then the person told me that I’d need to do a couple of things to make it happen. The “couple of things” meant I’d need to give the company about $7,000 upfront.

Those two situations made it easy-peasy to discern the correct responses.

But there are plenty of other situations where the right call is, at best, foggy. I’m facing one of those foggy moments right now. Someone I respect approached me, depending on one’s perspective, about an opportunity or a demanding challenge. The proposal came out of the blue and caught both Carol and me off-guard.

And the fog rolled in.

That’s something about me on a foggy morning. Being colorblind, I can’t discern which light on a stoplight is lit until I get within a few yards of it. I must see whether it’s the top, middle, or bottom light, before proceeding. It’s that red-green colorblindness affecting my judgment.

So what does a person do in the unclarity?

Let it simmer with patient prayer and pondering. Very few critical decisions involve the words “rush” or “hurried.” Just as “rushing to judgment” heads us toward uncomfortable conclusions, the hurry in the important issues of life has the potential to lead us to a dead-end consequence.

Get the wisdom of trusted colleagues, not “yes people”, but people of wisdom and experience who have the ability to ask the questions that enable you to uncover the answers. When there is consistency in what you are hearing, it’s a sign that the fog is lessening up ahead.

Try to envision the future. What picture can be seen a year or two from now? Sometimes, we have a way of romancing the present without seeing the turmoil in the distance. We end up saying things like “I didn’t realize…” and “I wish I would have known…” We need the farsightedness of our wise friends to help us see past our nearsightedness at the moment.

Finally, what might be the residual effect of the decision on those closest to you? What will it require of them? How do they feel about it? Is there an urging, a dread, a pushing forward, or a pulling back?

Even writing this today is helping me answer the question. Ultimately, I realize I’m not smart enough to simply answer it alone. After all, I used to drive an AMC Gremlin, the ultimate half-a-car.

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