Are you old enough to remember when it was cool to buy a Dell computer?

[I promise, this was a thing.]

The year was 2002, and my parents gave me the go-ahead to purchase my first laptop. I excitedly logged onto the Dell website, thinking to myself, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!”

But then something happened.

Instead of just clicking, “Buy,” I was asked a series of questions, each one more confusing than the last. How much RAM? How big of a hard drive? What kind of security protection? 

The questions were never-ending, it seemed. And with each passing one, I got less excited and more anxious. 

I eventually grinded through the final steps of the purchase, but I learned something valuable that day: choices are not always your friend. 

And I’m being reminded of that principle again during this season of life. 

If we wanted my 10-year-old son to play baseball next summer, he would have no less than 15 options in a 15-mile radius. 

We’re currently exploring high school options for my oldest son, and our current list has seven schools on it. 

Our family was recently in the market for a new vehicle – a process that dragged on for months, involved contact with a half-dozen dealerships, and—even once we had chosen the make, year, and model—demanded that we pick among eight different trim options.   

The same holds true for churches, colleges, job opportunities, and countless other aspects of our increasingly “abundant” world. 

I think it’s why I’ve felt increasingly drawn to authors like Wendell Berry and Viktor Frankl, who write about places and situations choosing us more than us choosing them. It’s a perspective shift that costs us some autonomy, to be sure. But the trade-off is finding a certain level of peace – relinquishing the constant worry that we have made, are making, or will make the “wrong decision,” just as I experienced with that first Dell computer. 

I’m curious to hear what you have to say about this tension. Generally, are you the kind of person who would rather:

1. Gladly choose from many options? OR

2. Make the best of a situation chosen for you? AND

3. Why?

A thought from a fellow traveler

The newsletter about growing old seemed to strike a chord with many of you. My favorite response came from a reader who reflected on time spent with her grandfather:

“I really liked this one because I love old people. I’ve always been dumbfounded as to why people don’t hold them in higher esteem because they have so much to offer us. One of my favorite things to do in high school was hang out with my grandpa, which I did most days after school. He’d share the same stories, and I’d listen as if hearing them for the first time. Those moments are a gift to me that no one can take away.”

Carry on fellow travelers, we’ll talk soon.