What’s The Worst That Can Happen

Often when we go out for dinner, I’m the last one to order. I look at the menu and see many things that look good, I glance over at Judy who has already made up her mind… the beet salad with salmon. I’ve now narrowed my selections down to 10-12 items. The other members of our party are soon ready to order and I’ve now reduced my possibilities to 7 or 8. It finally comes to me…”sir what would you like….I respond with “ahuma-huma-huma-humma,…. ah Judy, what would I like ….. you’d like #12…okay, I’ll take #12.” While this may be a bit of an exaggeration, it has happened a few times. You would think I was making a decision about the outcome of WWII. What’s the big deal if I accidently order a Balut  sandwich instead of a bologna sandwich.

We make many decisions every day and most of the time we don’t even think about them…. they’re automatic. Yet at times, we can find ourselves pausing and thinking and wondering  what to do. I guess a lot  depends on the importance of the issue at hand; if it’s relatively insignificant like choosing whether to watch the “Three Stooges” or “EWTN” on TV, hopefully we just make a choice quickly and move on. (“okay, okay, okay I know that choosing the “Stooges vs EWTN” is not insignificant… sorry, bad example….I forgot that Judy may be reading this BLOG) 

Yet, have you ever found yourself afraid of making a decision because you’re afraid of making a mistake. I guess all of us have. At times I can find myself somewhat frozen in making a decision… I really don’t want to make a mistake, so I hesitate to make the decision. Hopefully most of these times are when the decision at hand is important and there are serious consequences to the decision; in these cases it’s probably wise to take some time and get some discernment and especially to pray.

I guess all of this becomes a problem when we become “frozen” and are afraid to make a decision, afraid to make a mistake. It’s pretty normal to have a bit of “fear and trepidation” if the decision is important. but it’s a problem when this fear begins to surround normal daily decisions. 

I guess the proper response to this dilemma is that we should not be “afraid’ of making a mistake, but we should be wise and prudent.  Let’s not act like an imbecile and mortgage the house for a ticket on Seabiscuit at the track, but on the other hand, let’s not become paralyzed when choosing mustard or mayo for your hotdog. (“Woe, that’s deep Dave, very deep…slow down a bit”)

In truth we all make mistakes… we don’t want to, but it’s part of life. No one is infallible. We can’t allow fear to paralyze us. Sometimes I find that considering what’s “the worst that can happen” can remove fear and help me to think more clearly. Hey if that’s the worst that can happen, I can still survive…I can live with this.  

As I’m writing this BLOG, I realize that it’s somewhat discombobulated and needs some more thought and editing…..but I’m not sure I want to spend any more time trying to make it “make sense”. Hmmmmmmm. 

Hey, I’m going to make a decision on this BLOG…”let her rip…. what’s the worst that can happen if the BLOG is a DUD”?  Really, what’s the worst that can happen? Really? Will it cause the end of the world if the BLOG is a DUD? Jesus will still love me. Even if I publish a BLOG that’s a DUD, Jesus will still love me….and that is very good news.