They say you and I will make 35,000 decisions each and every day. Starting with getting up, our morning routine, breakfast, driving, time spent, money spent, thought life spent. Almost 300 of those decisions will be made about food. All these decisions and the reminder that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. 35,000 steps, depending on your stride, that’s 17.67 miles. We cover a lot of ground with the steps(decisions) we make every day.
The picture above was a funny moment when Leah and I visited Mt Rushmore a few years ago. Sometimes the phrase “Give me a sign” is indeed not helpful. 1 arrow right, 1 arrow straight, 3 arrows left: one lane. Do I have options, do I not?
Lately we have been living in the winter that never ends. Storms, wind, ice and in the middle of all of this there is something in my spirit I have felt before. Not only the pandemic, but many of my hobbies produce this same angst in me. Decision weariness, decision fatigue, call it what you want but the 35,000 decisions I make during a normal day seem to be raised to epic levels.
In the middle of this event there are two things acting on me and probably on all of us. 1. The realization that my decision has an impact on people. Cancel an event and the snow doesn’t materialize, have the event and someone ends up in the ditch or hurt. This internal dilemma that weighs on you for hours prior to a decision. 500 decisions just to get to the decision. Then 2, the flip side are the decisions that you don’t make, somebody made them for you. It’s easy to dive into the frustration of a world controlled by someone not named you. Once, not that big of a deal, but how about 5, 10, 20 times, a toll grows.
The temptation is to write this off as a first world problem, we’re not living under Idi Amin here. Some perspective is useful, but there is something going on in my heart that I have to pay attention to. There is some usefulness in identifying the cumulative effects of mounting circumstances. It’s possible to write off each individual event with the question, “why does this matter so much?” Better to acknowledge that it feels like my life is beyond my control on a regular basis, what is that doing to the condition of my heart?
If you’ve ever had mono you know about the fatigue that hits you as you recover. Simple mundane expenditure of energy wipes you out for a few hours. I feel the same way with snow events at this point. It’s not really such a big deal, but the decision-making wears us thin. Pandemic flashbacks!! It’s easy to lose yourself as another straw gets put on our back, and our adjustments are as small as the straw except the straws add up and our adjustments are 17.67 miles away from where we started.
It’s why we are invited into worship, into being in God’s word, into being in fellowship with other believers. A great quote from Shania Twain…
“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart
and can sing it back to you
when you have forgotten the words.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-ff
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; 10 for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up! 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
As our hearts shift in the course of life, stay connected to the people who know your heart on its most redeemed day!! Most of all, connected to God who has the capacity to heal your heart and transform into a work of art that only He can create. Blessings on the journey! 37,198…
Truth, Grace, and Time 
Interesting
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