Is this a big decision?

We recently gave up an opportunity to move into a larger, slightly cheaper apartment just down the street from the seminary. We'd been looking for a new apartment for several weeks, and finally this seemingly perfect apartment came available. Then, after talking and praying about it for a few days, we decided that the wisest decision would be to stay in the complex we are in but move into a larger apartment. We have a lot of friends in the neighborhood here who we wouldn't see very often if we moved out. Plus the outdoor area is great for kids (as the picture shows), and for walking and being outside. Also, there are quite a few people around here who need to hear the gospel, including many different nationalities. So, all in all, we feel good about the decision we made. But it wasn't easy.

Last week we were talking about the whole thing in the car, and I said to Megan, "Why was it so hard for us to make such a small decision? It's just an apartment, it should be that difficult!" And then it hit me, who am I to decide whether or not this is a big decision? Only God knows the outcome of making one decision or the other, and if he put it on our hearts to earnestly seek him for wisdom, then it was a big decision!

Every day, millions of people the world over make massive, life changing decisions in flippant and careless ways. A man accepts a job because it seems perfect for him. Several months later his marriage is seriously strained because his boss expects him to work 6o hours a week and he never sees his wife. A couple quickly snatches up beautiful house that is slightly outside their price range. Within a year or so they feel more like the house owns them. The time and money that are required to keep the house up and to pay their mortgage has change their lives beyond their expectations. The biggest decisions are the ones that reverberate into other areas of life.

I'm a quick decision maker. I don't like to take a lot of time to consider every possible outcome of a decision that lies before me. But several times over the past few years God has refused my inclinations toward making a quick decision. Now, I'm much more likely to ask, "God, is this a big decision?" And I've found that his purposes in putting the two of us through difficult periods of decision making are far more reaching than I could understand.