Destiny.....
I ask the question about destiny because right now our little family unit has to make a decision about our future. As we have tried to navigate the waters of decision, we have learned that it’s not only what decision we make but how we make it & what is driving that decision.
In our decision making we have wondered what about our families? There is so many things going on right now, it seems wrong to leave them but yet we can't be there for both of them neither can we base our lives on theirs.
What about our family unit? Addie is 6 months old today. The next few years of her life will shape so much about her. Is it right to take her away from family? Do we do what is best for her? What is best for her? Can her dad be home, and her mom at work? Do we make a decision based on us and pray that God will bless her and help her through our decision?
I guess as I sit down and think about it, we can't base our decision on any of these things. We can't just try to just get by every year, reevaluating our place in the world every month or two; we need a goal & road to our destiny.
Other people’s thoughts on Destiny:
“I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be."
This quote I relate to a lot. I never wanted to be a mom or even a wife, but looking at myself, truly evaluating me, I needed these things regardless of what I want/wanted. Addie's middle name is Devorah, which fits her beautifully for one of its meanings is bee & if you have been around me in the spring you know I am horribly paranoid of bees. I am horribly afraid of being a mom, because I have seen what happens to children of missionaries and I never wanted to have my heart divided. I don't want to give up my calling either.
“As for me, to love you alone, to make you happy, to do nothing which would contradict your wishes, this is my destiny and the meaning of my life
In my heart of hearts, I think of my love, my husband, my Phillip when I read this. I loved our previous plans because it meant I would do everything with him, spending every moment basking in the warmth of our love. I know things can not be the same, but that doesn't mean I can't do everything I can to make him happy. (Hmm... looking at it again, could we also apply it to our relationship with God?)
“Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.”
This quote sounds awfully close to what most youth focus groups tell us when we are growing up. "You will be great." "You are not afraid of being less or weak, but rather that you are powerful and great." "Your destiny is beyond your wildest dreams." All these sayings I have heard a thousand times and I find them a croc. How can you say that I will get beyond my wishes when even my wishes and deepest desires are beyond my reach? Maybe it means we will get something better than we wanted but not more. I don't know.
“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.”
This quote makes me wonder, are we afraid of leaving all our families for what we are meant to do? Right now I say, maybe. Outside of this situation, I hope we follow God's path and His destiny regardless of where it leads. It is just hard. When you feel you know what you were made for, it is hard to let it go because what will happen to you if you never get it back? What if to accept my destiny is to settle for less than I want, less than I need? I am a conflicted soul when it comes to this. When I am in the arms of my love, holding the newest member of our family I know that no matter where God leads, as long as we are where God wants, I will be happy. At the same time I have this thing in the back of my head, pushing me to question, longing for what can/may never be, prompting me to be discontented.
“I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve”
Hmmm.... I would have to agree. The times I am happiest is when I have found my place to serve and help others around me. Whether it is leading worship, or cleaning a church; training others to lead or sitting in a classroom trying to help little children listen to their teacher it is in serving we find our joy.
“How do geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans know when it is time to move on? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within if only we would listen to it, that tells us certainly when to go forth into the unknown.”
I question greatly our place, our destiny our purpose. What if we miss the voice telling us to walk into the unknown? Or perhaps, we have heard the voice but the unknown isn't the wild jungle but rather the walls of a school or the tediousness of a job? Perhaps the unknown isn't always as mysterious and romantic as we would wish, sometimes the unknown is just an uncomfortable place in order to grow us and push us to the next stage of life.
Back to my initial observation; it is not just the decision we make, but how we make it and why we make it. Our destiny is so much more than trying to figure out the here and now, we have to look beyond this minute and see where will this take us? Where do we even want to be a year or a decade from now? What has God created us for? If we just make a decision based on what is the most practical right now, we may miss out the long term plan that God intended for us.
Well my daughter is crying to be fed and put down for a nap. I still don't know anything except for this. We must make decisions about our family unit and where God wants us to be in the future. We can decided that right now we must put that aside for the sake of our families, but we must keep our goal & purpose in the forefront in our minds otherwise we may look back at the end of our life realizing we never did anything at all.
Here are the quotes about destiny.
Albert Schweitzer quotes (German medical Missionary, Theologian, Musician and Philosopher. 1952 Nobel Peace Prize, 1875-1965)
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