Choices
Life is full of decision making, and sometimes we know that the choices we make are the right ones. Other times we look back and feel as if a choice we made was a mistake. I have found that when it comes to making a choice about something, it’s always best if I take the time to pray about it first before making a final decision. Sometimes there is also an advantage of talking with someone you trust and getting their advice. Weighing the pros and cons is also helpful, but the fact is, once we’ve made a decision, there is no way we can know for sure how things will work out once we’ve made our choice. The important thing is how we deal with our choices even if we feel they were not thought through properly. Even a wrong choice can work for our good if we pray about it and ask the Lord to use it for His good.
How about you? Have you made any choices that you later regretted? How did you make the best of those decisions, and perhaps, even learn from them?
I am a very indecisive person. I am trying to pray more about choices I make and leading in God’s direction. Yes, I have made choices in my life that I later regretted.
Yes, I have made some bad decisions in my lifetime. But I have lived with them with The Lord’s help
Yes, I have made bad choices in my life. I have had to learn to live with them with the Lord’s help. I have also had to make hard decisions, that with prayer have turned out for the best.
I have made choices that I have later regretted and sometimes I was able to ‘fix’ the choice I made and make it work out for the better and sometimes I couldn’t. I have learned that I shouldn’t make hasty decisions and should pray about it first. With God in control of the situation/choice, it always works out the way He wants it to.
I try not to regret a decision. Every decision is a learning experience. Sometimes that experience is painful but it can result in you not making a bigger mistake in the future. I’m so happy and content with the life that God has given me. What if making a different decision led me down a path that led to discontent? I have learned from my mistakes.
I have had alot decisions new things to better my life, bigger joy and personal happiness. Job opportunities, moving to 1st floor apartment so I can get 2 hip surgeries, and later moving closer to family and friends and more. My religious beliefs are very important to me and my ancestors as well. I fadt & pray as I make decisions to figure out what is right or best. Thank you for your books They bring happiness in my life living alone not near family or friends and helps my loneliness.
Have a wonderful day.
Yes, I’ve made many choices that I later regretted. I have to realize that I prayed and over and over to make the right decision, and even though I think it was the wrong decision at the moment, maybe I just need to count my blessings and wait to see the full effects of my decision.
I agree Wanda , sometimes we get anxious about our decisions that we fail to ask God what is best for us . We need to wait on him and his timing , somehow putting it in his hands it always works out cause his timing isn’t ours .
I noticed that this journal entry was written on my birthday. 😊 As for choices, yes I have made many I wish I could go back and change. But then I think if I had made those choices differently, maybe some things in my life would be different that I wouldn’t want to change. Every choice we make affects other choices. There’s a show I love called The Way Home. The family has a magical pond that they can jump into and travel back to the past. They don’t change anything. They just observe.I love your books. My mom loved them too. She passed a year ago and I know she’s at peace now.
I just really enjoy reading your books. Was lucky to go to a book signing of yours at Fairbanks, Iowa one time.
I regret the times I chose work over spending time with family and friends.
It is always good to pray about things first before making any decisions. The Lord’s guidance is always the best.
I have learned from my bad choices, especially when I did not ask the Lord for guidance.
I am a big fan of yours.
Blessings!
I definitely regretted some choices I made. Sometimes it seemed like the right choice at the time but later it turned out to be not that great. But it’s always an opportunity to learn.
I’ve always tried to make right choices. It starts with prayer, then talking it over with mostly my spouse or someone else who is involved in the situation. I don’t remember a time I’ve regretted making a wrong choice.
I think we all have made choices that we later regret but we hopefully learn from our decisions. I pray for Gods guidance daily.
This was such a good insight! We really don’t know if our decisions are going to be the right ones in the moment. My husband and I made a mistake buying a house many years ago- it hurt us financially and put a great strain on our marriage. However, God used that to bring us closer to Himself and each other. He was also gracious to bring us to our home now that we love. Looking back, I wish we had not made the decision to buy that house but I am also so grateful for the experience because, out of that, God gave us a beautiful testimony.
I am personally thankful you write about Amish life. I love reading these books and they always leave me feeling blessed and peaceful.
A lot of years ago, I was incapacitated for some weeks and since I couldn’t move about well, I returned to reading, which was my first introduction to Wanda Brunstetter! I literally had to have the next few novels in my possession so I wouldn’t miss a beat, which I also got to know the local library staff pretty well as they would call & let me know the next novel was available & ready for pick up. What I appreciated most about Mrs. Brunstetter’s novels is the biblical scriptures she provides. A few caught my eye and are some of my favorites, Phil. 4:6-7 and Isa. 41:10- both scriptures mention “do not be anxious” which solidifies my belief that Jehovah God – Psalms 83:18 is truly in control and guides us with his word, the Bible. In addition to reading the books, I also began studying the Bible more and learned that like us, God also has a name. ❤️ I appreciate and respect Mrs. Brunstetter’s style of writing and how she brings the characters to life! I am so looking forward to reading her newest novel and those forthcoming 🌺🥰
I think it’s normal to make choices we look back on when we’re older and wiser and think what we could have done differently! Very thankful that we have a great pastor who offers biblical counsel and wise family members!
I love your books!!! Was so excited to meet you in Paducah, KY several years ago!
I don’t believe there’s anyone who hasn’t regretted some of their choices and I now know that praying about all things is what we need to do. One of my POSITIVE choices was my decision to take a one-day-a-week job at our public library. I had been a full-time farm wife and mother so this wasn’t done lightly. My husband was against it but I took the job and it turned into a full-time position that ended in a 22 1/2 year career. We now see that this was God’s way of helping us to make another difficult choice. We sold our farm and my husband eventually earned his license as a Funeral Home Director.
I definitely have regretted some choices. The choices that have given me the most regret are those where I spoke before thinking or praying about it. But, I always ask for forgiveness. Sometimes I’ve had to wait years for a relationship to be mended, but during that time I learned to pray for the person I hurt and to love them more and heal from the hurt that they caused me. These are not quite the choices you are talking about, but these are the ones that I could think of that I’ve learned the most from.
I find if you pray about decisions it is easier to make that decision.
There seems to be so many avenues a person can go each day. Trying to land on one and stick with it isn’t always easy. The number of things that need to be done can be overwhelming. Letting God be the captain and leading the way isn’t always easy to do, but it is the best way.
I believe we have probably all made decisions we have regretted.
It is why it is so important to pray. Many times we make decisions and pray for God’s blessing on them instead of asking for his direction and guidance to make the right one.
Thank so much for your books. We can learn many lessons from them.
I have made bad choices when I have not prayed about it or followed my God given intuition and yes I have regretted it. I still do wish I had made better decisions in my younger years. God has forgiven me for which I am very thankful. I just have problems forgiving myself.
I have a hard time making a decision. I need to do better in seeking The Lord first. There have been times I’ve regretted choices I’ve made but we have to push through. I need to not lean on my own understanding.
I’m such an indecisive person! We built our home and we changed our mind so many times on design and color! We ended up having to make a decision quick because we were running out of time. Still to this day I regret the color! It can be changed but finding the time to do it is a different story! 🙂
There is many choices in life. some I did regret and I learned to accept my decision and move on with life. Many choices I made were good choices. I find it best to always pray about my choices. the person I turn to for advice is my husband. His wisdom helps me make the right decisions.
My husband and I were just talking about this earlier this morning before reading this, about how blessed we are and our perspective on things. We were discussing how hard it was to leave our previous house, even though it was almost falling down around us; but here we are living in a lovely 55+ community. At the time of the move we didn’t realize how much would change for us, but shortly after the move I lost my ability to walk, and I became bedridden. Then considering the amount of care I needed my husband had to step down from pastoring the church due to his strength and my care. But, at this place I can lay in bed and watch the birds, the rabbits and the squirrels, I can see the clouds go over and the jet planes. I watch the cars go by or watch as people come out for their evening walk. I can choose to pity myself, which once in a while I do, but most of the time I “choose” to find the blessings, and once started counting them, they go on and on.
We do not see this as a bad choice but as God’s leading to get us here to a maintenance
free property and to set us up in a one floor situation which is easier for a wheelchair,
and we had steps to get in and out at the other house, here there are no steps.
Yes, we are blessed.
I’m anxious to read The Protecter.
I struggle and pray about major decisions, but have a hard time committing when I don’t have a clear direction. There have been times my husband and I have made a decision and complications have come up, each time we haven’t held to our original plan it has cost us a lot of money.
I so love learning about the Amish, they amaze me. I would love to go back and visit there again.
Before I make a big decision I pray about. I try not to rush into anything but there are times I did and got burned by it. So I try to learn from them.
A year ago I made the decision of leaving my job as a Family Advocate of Head start children and their families. I was calling my supervisor of that job 2 weeks after I started my new job.i asked to return to my old position. I was so regretful of leaving my position . She asked me to wait another couple of weeks to be sure I wanted to return . About a week later I called her, letting her know I was positive I wanted to return. 2 weeks later I was hired back.
We are now going through uncertain times with this job. As it is federally funded. I have been hoping and praying it doesn’t get cut . These sweet children need this to help them grow and thrive. I definitely pray and always have a motto. “If He leads you to it, He will lead you through it.
Marj
I love your books I own many…you are my favorite writer ❤️
I guess the hardest decision involved our daughter who was mentally handicapped due to an illness at age 7 wks. After much testing and medicines to help with explosive behaviors, nothing was working. No intervention therapies worked. But we asked the question of God “why us” when we’re Christians (a pastor’s family) and trying to raise our children according to His will. But I suppose we all question “why me” Lord. Our Dr and social worker asked us to tour an inpatient facility for the mentally handicapped. But we said no!!!! But we had to come to that point in our lives ourselves. How could we turn her over to strangers care. By her age of 14 we were at our witts end. What do we do? It was turning our home inside out not to mention us individually. So thru prayer we agreed to tour the facility and it looked really good…like a college campus. We found out we could use 5 wks taken at various times in a year for respite care. So we utilized that care. Sometimes in days, sometimes a week. The hardest decision ever to even let her stay for a week. But she loved it, calling it her camp! Isn’t that like God? So after 3 more years of just utilizing the respite care, we decided to apply for permanent residential care. After all the legal legwork of record collecting, and applications, courts, etc. She was now 17 and was accepted. Again an extremely hard day. They asked she stay a month without a visit from us. Again HARD. But we could call and inquire of her status from our social worker who was marvelous. Our daughter stayed there and blossomed for 27 yrs, when the facility closed by state order. Bad decision! We used a group home for 2 yrs which wasn’t good at all. Of course that was during covid too and we couldn’t visit her for 6 months. Horror!
And then….as God would have it, our former social worker became a caregiver in her personal home (both she and her husband had worked previously at the state facility). Our Daughter moved in Nov 2020 with her! It’s been 4 years of super great care and love. She is doing marvelous. Not without explosiveness but they are trained to care for her. Her handicap didn’t go away but love and care and professionalism really improve things.
I guess our decision to question God in what His answer was for her life may have been wrong, but perhaps He had to use years of turmoil to get our hearts to the point that we could send her to another’s care. You can’t be forced into those decisions! Sometimes Love Means Letting Go
Proverbs 16:9 is my go to scripture, “Man plans his way but the Lord orders his steps.”! I’m so thankful for that verse. I look back and see where I could have made really bad decisions but the Lord guided me and helped me through some tough times.
Great advice as to a sound recipe to making wise Godly decisions. The unknown is always very hard and also I struggle with things that are out of my control despite my best efforts. I am learning to focus on God’s guidance and know that He is with me every step of the way! Thanks for having your e-mail and reaching out to the various communities. I live in south eastern Wisconsin in Waukesha, WI. My husband and I enjoyed a simple getaway staying in a small town called Cashton, WI a beautiful Amish community. Have any of your books been written based on any Wisconsin Amish communities? I love your writing style and look forward to reading more of your books!
I always take everything to pray after thinking on them…AFter my daily devotions is the time I spend in prayer.
Love your books and your newsletters and journal entries
I am sure I have made some bad decisions over the years but I don’t dwell on them. I move on and learn from my mistakes.
Yes I have had to make decisions I always pray about them first and ask The Lord to guide me through the decision I am making I would love to enter the newsletter giveaway Have a Blessed Day Wanda!
I have made a few bad decisions in my life. I used to do better when I could ask my mom’s advise, but ever since she pasted it has been hard. But I have found that praying about them really helps.
I need to pray more than I do when making a decisions. I need to put God first in all I do . I believe the Good Lord works out for me. Last week I had to call to see if I had to go to jury duty and as god was there for me , I didn’t have to go. So I’m thankful for that.. I must rely on God more.
I love your books and the stories they hold. They really make me think about my choices in the past. I pray that I make better ones in the future!
I have made decisions that I regret. I have also said if I could know the things I know now I would have made a different decision. Sometimes I learned from it and sometimes not. We always have to live by those decisions whether we like it or not.
I really have to agree with you, especially the first two sentences.
I have learned so much from the choices I make. Jesus Christ had always been there for me and showed me each day a new beginning.
That is such good advice! Taking it to the Lord first is so important. And if you have good, godly, wise friends you can talk to for council, it is a real plus! Seeking council of course is scriptural .