Where are We Headed?

God always leads us to where we need to be, not where we want to be. - Unknown

When I was younger I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. As a kid I wanted to be a pediatrician. Then a banker. Then a teacher. Then a dancer. By high school I had settled on being a computer programmer. Unfortunately I got to college and struggled in C++ so I changed my major to Physics. Then engineering. Then I picked up International Affairs. I couldn’t stand all the government classes, so I finally gave up. It was time to go to career services. I took their tests and talked to my advisor about my likes and dislikes. The result…. I was told that I could do anything I wanted to do. Not the answer I was looking for.

I am glad to say I eventually got there. I grabbed the textbook of all the majors and looked at all the classes. I thought to myself, maybe if I just go for the ones that intrigued me I can find a new lead. It worked. Communications caught my eye and I was able to start a career in that field. What a huge sigh of relief finally getting to something I enjoyed. Once I know what I’m doing, I tend to obsess and research and study and have a strong drive for it. Nothing stands in my way. However I took something away from this. I could not figure out what I wanted to do because God wanted to be the driving force. He wanted to be the guide of my life. I would have depended on my own strength and wisdom to get me there and not His.

This made so much sense to me. But it made me think of the other spectrum. Those who were born knowing their dreams and what they wanted to do. My late husband who was my best friend in college showed me what that side was like. Not as simple as I thought. His dream was to help people mentally. He wanted to bring joy and peace and laughter. While I was trying everything out, he walked in knowing exactly what he was going for. Psychology. However, his struggle was finding ways to make his dream possible. He knew how to get there but the doors he was trying to open wouldn’t always open. He would try start ups, create programs and make plans but not with the success he was looking for.

We both had two different paths, but both had blind spots.

He couldn’t see which path would take to him to his goal. I couldn’t see what my goal was. Yet, we both ended up getting to the goals that God had in mind for us. He ended up working as a Counselor and Dean of Students in a high school. He touched so many lives that the school held a memorial for him when he died. As I listened to every student talk, I saw how he had helped them believe in themselves and reach the goals that they saw as impossible. There were poems and speeches read and emotionally created dances and songs sung and portraits displayed. God used his talents and passion in the next generation in a huge way. We don’t always see where we are going or understand what is currently happening. But it turns out that if we don’t stress about this unknown path and just trust God to take us to where we are supposed to be, we will get there. No matter what.

I know my example is of college and the life after. But this applies to all scenarios. We are still walking on a path in life and there are many times we don’t know what to choose, where to go, or what to do?. Let God lead you there. It’s fine to not know where you are headed. You WILL get to where you are supposed to be.