The Birth of Personality

For the past three weeks, I've been praying and processing a decision that was presented to me unexpectedly. I haven't figured out if I'm just over dramatic or extremely analytical (or both), but when life-altering decisions are posed, I'm careful and cautious. This decision is a great opportunity, but by taking this oppotunity, I walk away from a somewhat equally important opportunity. It's life changing, in a good way.

My process when a decision like this comes along, is first to pray about it. I've learned the hard way in the past that if this isn't numero uno, I'm sunk. And, not just a simple prayer voiced, but real meditation on it...a praying lifestyle. I ponder it, pray, think, analyze scenarios....all in the presence of God. Get a picture of Pooh sitting on his honey pot saying 'THINK THINK THINK" and you got a good visual. My prayer life would be much richer if I applied this method to every prayer I uttered. Secondly, I keep the radar up with every scripture I read, every sermon I hear, and every devotion I read for anything that God might be saying to me about this impending decision. And, thirdly, I seek godly counsel. I'm blessed to have people right smack in the middle of the situation to talk to, people somewhat detached, but aware of the players in the game, and godly friends who are completely unconnected, yet know me very well, that can help me discern the situation.

Now that I've come to my decision, I look back on another life-altering decision in my life that I made many years ago - the decision to accept Christ as my Savior. It was life changing in the very best way. I had been raised in a Christian home, raised in church and knew about God, but one day it hit me that unless I committed my life to Him, I would spend eternity separated from Him in hell. Due to some circumstances, death was very real to me at age 7 when that happened, but even then, I was as laboriously of a mover as I was with this decision today. I talked to my parents, my pastor, and most important, even as a little one, internalized it a lot. Then, finally when I was 8, I was ready to make that commitment. Although in a simpler form, the decision-making process was similar to my process today.

It's interesting that our decision making is heavily influenced by our personality. Everyone is different, and everyone arrives at decisions differently. But, it's amazing that God created us in our mother's womb, even our intricate personalities. For even though I'm far from the age of 7 today, I still attack decisions in the same way. So, the next time you work with small children, observe their personality. You will most likely see the personality of a future leader.