Difficult Decisions

Sometimes it seems you are in a no-win situation. No matter what choice you pick, it has consequences, and not necessarily fun consequences. I recently went through one of these difficult decisions.
Decades ago I left the college where I began my computer science degree to attend a computer programming technical school in Omaha. I had a decision to make at that time that wasn't easy. The computer science program at college was focused on scientific programming but that was a very small percentage of the computer programming job market. Plus I had financial considerations. So I left the college and turned my focus to business programming, which dominated the job market. I never finished my degree.
I worked on the degree a little more, taking night school off and on, but still never finished the degree. Last fall I discovered a college that would accept most of my college credits, I could earn some credits for the 37 years in my career, and would switch my focus from programming to my ministry. So I enrolled.
I thought I had considered everything and that I could handle the load. After all, I have been bi-vocational for most of the last twenty years. And I read a ton of books every year. If I would put my outside reading aside I assumed I would have time for the college class on top of my job and my ministry.
I was wrong. The college class ate up a lot of my time. My ministry of starting a new church began to suffer. I looked at how I was spending my time. I modified my time management process to help - and it did - a little. I tried to find some help for my ministry that would help take some load off, but no help arrived. After getting half-way through the class I had to make a hard decision - keep going and let the ministry suffer, or quit the class and get back on track.
A lot of thoughts ran through my mind as I debated. I looked to my professor for some advice. I talked to a friend who works at the college for his advice. I prayed with my prayer partner. It came down to my priorities. My number one priority has to be my job. My number two priority has to be the ministry. Then there is family and school. I decided the school had to be stopped at this time. So I called the school and emailed my professor with the decision.
This is the process we must use to make hard decisions like this one. What are our priorities? Who can I seek advice from? What options exist? And, I believe the most important, prayer. When it all came together, there really was only one option - focus on the ministry and put the degree on hold again.
These decisions are never easy. And they have consequences that are difficult to accept. But decisions have to be made. And the above process is the best process I have found. Just don't forget to pray! God alone knows what you are supposed to do. He will make it obvious to you.