Snow Storms and Making Decisions

I’m in the eye of what’s being called potentially the severest winter storm in memory. I’m in Indianapolis which is all shut down and looks like it will be for the next few days.

When I’m traveling storms, like any obstacle, create a pile of decisions.

“Do I continue with my plans or postpone?”

“What if it’s not as bad as they say?”

“What if it is?”

“What’s best for the other people involved in the plans?”

“If I postpone when will I have another opportunity to do what I planned on doing in this trip?”

The challenge is there are no right answers to these questions. There is no verse in Scripture, no management book that specifically addresses these situations. I can’t Google it for an answer.

I have to use my best judgment, as well as the judgment of others involved with the plans to make the best decision. And I pray for wisdom, for God’s Spirit to direct my decisions.

The key is, as with this trip, is to make a decision and then commit to its success. To make a half-hearted decision is more often than not the worse option. Once I committed to coming down to Indy I did what I needed to do to assure the trip’s success.

This is where the risk is and why it’s easy to be half-hearted in a decision, because we are afraid of failure. Yet the chance of failure increases without a full commitment to the decision.

So even though I’m in a hotel wondering if I will make it home to see my son Mitch’s basketball game tonight I also know that I’ve done what I could to make this trip successful.

And the good news is my meeting is still on so the purpose of the trip appears to be within reach.

I’m now home as I finish this post. Our meeting this morning was fantastic and exceeded my expectations. And I was able to get home just before phase two of the storm and catch Mitch’s game.

Making a decision and committing to its success made the difference.