I was in college when I first ran into a “quandary”. My boyfriend used the word in a sentence, and I had no idea what it meant. Do I let on that I don’t know? Do I play along and try to figure out through context clues? Do I change the subject?
What a quandary for me!
Quandary: (noun) a situation or predicament that is not easily solved, a dilemma
A quandary’s more than not knowing what shirt to wear or how to fix your hair. It’s one of those circumstances where you truly don’t know what you should do, and the decision could be life changing.
Now I can’t tell you how to solve a quandary, but I can say that in every decision, every quandary, there’s something to be learned and a way for us to grow up a little bit more.
I don’t think that God ever meant for us to be wandering around and decision-less. He’s created us with an amazing capacity to make choices, to bear the responsibility of those choices, and to not be alone in our mistakes (grace).
I used to think God’s blessing came through the ease of life. If I endeavored to try something new and met with success, then that was God’s blessing and affirmation on me, and if I failed, then that was God telling me he didn’t want me to be doing whatever it was I was doing.
But now I think differently.
I don’t tell God what the circumstances must mean. I wait for him to tell me. Success nor failure determine my path. He does. It’s a relationship thing. And it’s not easy.
Sometimes it means spending a lot of time in my quandary. I don’t like that. I like to make a decision and move on, but I’ve found if I wait. If I trust. If I let him, he will show me the right way. He wants what’s good for us, to help us grow, to help light the world, to help us see more than just a poor reflection.
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6
