Leap of Faith

By Anonymous Guest Writer

Many people don’t know how to make decisions. They allow themselves to get held back by all the “what ifs” of life. This often leads to indecision or just making decisions poorly. Don’t get me wrong. I do it as well, but that doesn’t make it any better.



This trait is especially crippling in men. Men have a natural desire to want to lead and protect. This requires making decisions, which can often be difficult. It also means living with the consequence of that decision. Every decision has a consequence for better or worse. If a Man isn’t willing to make a decision even if it is difficult, he will be crippled by it because his nature is telling him to be bold.



Being bold doesn’t mean being stupid. It also doesn’t mean not taking counsel from someone, and one should primarily take counsel from God in prayer. The problem is when these steps are met, and one still holds off making a decision on whatever they’ve been discerning.



Decision making is naturally daunting thing because it means choosing one thing over another. You say “yes” to something and “no” to another. In a culture that wants instant satisfaction and is drowning in consumerism, this aspect of decision making is unpleasant. We don’t like to say no to something we want. It’s especially difficult when one has to choose between two goods. A choice between a good and a wrong is generally easy if concupiscence doesn’t rear its ugly head.



Now not every decision is life changing. If I decide to buy groceries at Kroger instead of Wal-Mart, my life isn’t really going to change one way or another. But there are some decisions that can be life changing, and these can be scary. The Catholic Man needs to be willing to make these decisions but trust that he made a decision based off of prayer and good council.



Yes, the “what ifs” will eventually come to gently (or not so gently) plague your mind, but damn them. No one wants to live with their head swarming in the endless clouds of “what if.” Have faith that God helped you make a right decision and make the best of it with His help and guidance.



Be a man: brave, bold, and dangerous. Don’t let fear and doubt imprison you. There is enough already keeping your heart captive, there is no need to add another.