St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises provides a good model for discernment and decision-making with things like this.
God doesn’t usually put up the proverbial “neon sign” telling a person exactly what to do. That being said, there are exceptions, the one that comes to my mind most readily is Mother Angelica. In her bio by Raymond Arroyo there are several examples of how she was led, and how God provided what was needed. She would be so calm when a big bill was due with no money and everybody else was all worried about it, then they would get a check for the exact amount. Amazing courage and trust and faith.
Some things that can go into a discernment are - how practical is it, how big of a risk (and how much risk are you comfortable with, as that varies from one person to another). What other people in your life might be affected and are they on board with it. What will the potential gain be, vs. where you currently are. How can you imagine it being 20 years down the road if you do it, vs. if you don’t.
And in these particular times, are the economy and globalization going to come into play. In a way, though, since things many thought were secure proved not to be, it’s not simple there either.
Some people get more out of doing things like making pros and cons lists, others prefer to be more intuitive. You might look at some past decisions and their outcomes, too. Hindsight can be a great tool.
I feel kind of strange giving advice about this because I generally feel I’ve made quite a few stupid or ill-informed decisions in my life. I’ve got a good store of mistakes to have learned from!
But I suppose I’ve done a few things right along the way too. And I hope to increase that percentage in the years to come.
Pray, talk to people, reflect, gather info, pray some more . . .
