Where is God in My Decision-making?

I’m tired of car accidents.  Fatalities, near-misses and major fender benders.  What is going on with people and cars lately? 

The other day a lady almost ran into the driver’s side of the car I was driving.  It was as if she didn’t even see me. 

Last week I was sitting in my car in a parking lot, praying the rosary while waiting for my son.  I heard this loud bang, looked up, and saw a car in the middle of a nearby intersection with its entire front end smashed in.  Since it was barely a block from the local fire station, I saw firemen moving into action, coming down the street to see what had happened. 

As I sat there with my rosary in my hand, I debated about walking down to the scene of the accident.  My thoughts made me hesitate because I knew if I went out of curiosity, I would just be a gawker, but on the other hand, it felt strange to sit there praying while this was going on around me. Was there some way I could help?  

Since I couldn’t see the other car that was involved in the accident, I decided to take a little stroll to see what was what.  Everything looked like it was under control so I started to walk back to my car.  A lady, that I had seen shuffling kids to a car was standing outside her car.  I looked at her and asked if everybody was okay. 

Turns out, the three little ones who were now in her backseat were a part of the accident and she just happened to be going by and saw them standing in the street, so she moved them to the safety of her car.  She said they were very traumatized.  I looked into her car and there were three little kids crying and shaking, visibly scared. 

We stayed with the kids and tried to comfort them, and then she had a great idea.  She remembered that emergency personnel sometimes have little bears to give children in such situations.  She inquired about it and the firemen immediately went and got three little stuffed animals for the children. 

Eventually, because the oldest child was complaining of stomach pain, the ambulance came and our role ended.  The ambulance attendants were awesome.  They hugged the littlest guy and talked to him and immediately looked over the oldest. 

The aunt (or was it a cousin?) who had been in the car with them said she was going to be taken to jail because she had marijuana in her car.  According to the ambulance drivers, the kids would end up at the hospital, probably with a social worker, and then their story would continue. The lady who had helped the children initially, did get through to their “Grannie” so the kids could talk to her.  We learned that their dad was working out of town and Grannie did not have a car.

It is my understanding that there were no car seats in the car, not even for the little pre-schooler.  It was heartbreaking. 

I’m glad I put down my rosary and took my little walk.  Sometimes we can help in ways that are not clear when we first set out.  That is true in so many situations in life. The trick, I think, is to follow those inner promptings. 

I always try to do that, even if they do not make sense to me at the time, because over the years, I have watched God work in amazing ways, in incredible circumstances. 

However, I also had a teacher who said that when he was younger, he jumped in with both feet and decided to give away everything he owned and live totally dependent on God.  He was a college student at the time, and it didn’t end well.  He found himself broke, miserable and unable to pay his debt.  Turning to his parents, he got back on track and eventually reflected on where he went wrong. 

You see, following inner promptings can be good, but they can be disastrous if they rise out of our own passion, ill-informed moral compass, or are coupled with a lack of reason.  They become dangerous if they are not carefully discerned.  The discernment part is key. It is a difficult thing, people often say, to figure out whether God is prompting us, or if it is just us.

I can usually tell whether it is God or me, because often the prompting is not something I necessarily want to do, or would likely think up myself. Our human nature often leans us to the easy, comfortable path of least resistance.  It is true that God can shake us out of contentment, but unlike my teacher who was radical, unreasoned and undiscerning, we, too, must be responsible for our own missteps, which wisely he came to recognize. 

Secondly, when you spend time with the Lord in prayer, you get a sound sense of the way in which he asks you to walk. 

Also, when God truly leads us, although we may be uncomfortable, there is typically a sense of peace, a realization, a knowing, that this is the right way to go.  A wise priest once told me that God does put desires on our heart and we need to pay attention to those, because he works with them as well. Our loving desires and passions should be brought before the Lord to see what he desires for us. 

Unfortunately, we can cause our own spiritual fatalities and near-misses if we are not careful, but thankfully, if we discern wisely, our loving God will be with us through it all.

 God bless,

Janet Cassidy

Janetcassidy.com