Lessons For Living Life Wide OpenSample

I see a lot of myself in Mareto. In fact, I see Mareto in all of us. He boils down just about every decision to a choice between two things. Holding up his Transformers toys before church, he cocks his head to the side and says, “Or yes or no?” He wants to take them to Sunday school and needs an answer. Waking up on a Tuesday he looks up from his place at the breakfast table and asks, “Or school or church?” Ice cream is either chocolate or vanilla, and shoes are either sneakers or sandals. Life is easier that way, and manageable. Aren’t we all craving simplicity? . . .

Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” This is such a well-known and oft-quoted verse, and there’s a reason for that. In it we find the comforting reassurance that God will make our paths known, that what we need is to trust him. It’s a reminder not to worry or overthink every detail of life.

Verse five starts with the word trust. Instead of fretting over every little decision and option we are presented with, we can trust that God is in the details of life. We don’t actually need to micromanage our lives to pieces. God won’t let us walk down an eternally destructive path, sighing, “Oh well . . . she made the wrong choice. She had a million options, and she picked the wrong one.” God’s not out to get us, and life isn’t supposed to be a puzzle set on the hardest level. . . .

Every choice facing us might not be “or yes or no,” but we can always cut out the excess and bring things back down to the simplest possible answers when we feel overwhelmed. Whether it’s church or school or jobs or even deciding what to cook for dinner, we can avoid decision-fatigue by streamlining whenever possible.

Mareto reminds us of the value of paring down—of looking at what’s important, of examining our priorities, and of simplifying our choices. When I live like that I find more peace and joy, and fewer restless nights.