Tag: decisions

At sixes and sevens…

That’s the way today’s journal entry started…

Finding myself at sixes and sevens...

I got to thinking… what on earth does this expression actually mean?? How did it enter the English language?? I know how I was feeling… at odds with myself. Not sure what to do next. Not really in a funk… but… well, at sixes and sevens.

A little sleuthing, courtesy of Wikipedia, says at sixes and sevens is an English idiom used to describe a condition of confusion or disarray. It dates from the mid-1380s meaning “to hazard the world” or “to risk one’s life.”

Various states of confusion and risk are true of our household right now.

A few months ago I blogged about our “trifecta” (see link below). Several major decisions had converged upon our lives. One by one, clarity has come. One by one, decisions have been made. One by one, we’re moving ahead… into a new chapter of our lives.

That’s where confusion and risk fit in. My husband and I have made the decision to move back to our home country… after 46+ years of living abroad! We don’t have to learn another language, thankfully! But a LOT has changed — both in our home country and in our lives individually and as a couple — since we first moved overseas as almost newlyweds (we celebrated our third wedding anniversary a couple weeks after arriving in Europe a “few” years ago).

Uprooting and then resettling yet another time is filled with a myriad of decisions, emotions. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. Scary. Other times, exciting!

And then there’s a day like today… when I’m at sixes and sevens. After sharing our news with our families, we started spilling the beans to good friends. No one has been all that surprised — actually, they seem rather excited! But sharing this news face-to-face with someone yesterday and another friend today… well, the reality of this decision and all it entails keeps sinking in. Keeps becoming more and more real.

I’m already making mental lists of things I’ll miss living here in the tropics, like the daily serenade of birds I listen to each morning as I sit in my living room spending time with God. And mental lists of things I’m anxious about with our upcoming move, like WHERE will we end up living???

I’m feeling a bit like the Israelites that I’ve been blogging about lately. We’re on our own journey in the “wilderness” on our way to the “promised land.” The journey is fraught with detours, challenges, unknowns, potential misunderstandings.

Hmm… do you think God may have had me reading that portion of the Bible because He knew what was coming down the road for us?!? That there were lessons to be learned from the Israelites that would help me today?!? In the 21st century?!? I’m inclined to think YES!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or afraid, and do not be dismayed [surprised, disillusioned, disappointed] for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

… in quietness and in trust is your strength… Isaiah 30:15

These are some of the things I’m focusing on during these topsy-turvy days. Things that I know are true. Things that will help me keep my focus on God. Things that will enable me to trust HIS plans — even though they aren’t all crystal clear to us yet! I’m confident that by doing so, there will be joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

I not-so-affectionately refer to it as our “trifecta.” Several major decisions all converged upon our lives around the same time. Decisions that have interrupted our lives. Decisions that have robbed me of sleep. Decisions that have fostered hours of conversation with my husband, which is a wonderful fringe benefit, by the way!

We seem to have our best talks while walking, and so the past weeks we’ve been up early to beat the tropical heat (it’s now summer here in Thailand, our “hot season”). We’ve walked round and round a nearby housing development… and we’ve gone round and round in our thinking.

Not my favorite place to be.

I’m not a fan of ambiguity. I don’t like it when my secure little world gets rattled. I prefer having all my ducks in a row. ALL the time.

But life’s not like that.

This latest “trifecta” has forced me to reexamine the things I say I believe and hold fast to. It also reminded me that I blogged about this a few years ago (see link below). Gulp! Guess I’m still needing to learn some things about decision making.

God’s Word (aka the Bible) usually doesn’t spell out the answers to our decision-making questions in black and white, but it does give some helpful hints for us to discern what to do. After all, He’s a good Father. The perfect Father. And He wants us, His kids, to grow up. To learn to use our brains and good sense. Our part is to listen, to act in faith — not in ourselves, but in Him.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG)

“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!

Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

Trust. Don’t try to figure everything out on your own. Listen. Keep your thoughts on God.

Easier said than done!

My default decision-making setting is to try to figure everything out myself. Ask advice of others — sometimes. Stew. Substitute activity/busyness for being quiet. For listening to God. All of which is a recipe for becoming anxious, feeling overwhelmed, being fearful. NOT at all what God promises.

So… where are my husband and I in our current “trifecta”?

We’re intentionally listening a LOT… to each other and to God. We’re seeking advice from others. We’re gathering information so that, at least as far as is humanly possible, we know the facts, the options before us. And ultimately, we’re trusting that God will make things clear. In HIS timing, which often is different from ours. We’re trusting that He, as a good Father, isn’t playing games with us. After all, He sees the big picture and is aware of factors that aren’t even on our radar.

Yep. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to navigate the decisions of life. But may we encourage one another to trust. To not try figuring everything out on our own. To listen to and keep our thoughts on God. And as we do so, may we have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

Hmm… what might my crystal ball say???