The Year that Chinese Takeout Saved Me

Or at least, made my discernment easier...

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Nearly a decade ago, I found myself in a time of discernment about (what felt like) everything. All the big questions of life were up in the air for me: am I going to leave this career? Am I going to move across the ocean? Am I going to marry this man? [It turned out that the answer was yes, to all three.]

In that season, it was hard to feel like anything was stable. Every little thing in life felt like an existential weight: should I buy this $15 t-shirt? If I do, will I ever wear it? Or will I wear it enough before I need to decide if it makes the cut for my luggage weight limits, if I am moving? Am I moving? If I buy this t-shirt, is it a sign that I don’t want to move?

We’ve already talked about how in those kind of what-is-going-on-with-my-life seasons, where discernment fatigue threatens to reduce us to a puddle every day, getting practical can help.

But as I’ve been reflecting on that season in my own life, I remembered something small that actually helped me a lot. I probably couldn’t have named it clearly back then, but I’m glad I did it, as deceptively simple as it was.

Two words: Chinese takeout.