Have you ever had one of those life-changing moments? You know what I'm talking about. The kind of things that define you, shape your life. Those events after which you know that nothing will ever be the same.
I hope you have. If you haven't, I suspect you just haven't been looking. Or haven't lived long enough.
Here are a few of mine.
Marriage.
The birth of my two children.
The death of my mother.
Finding my birthmother.
Standing face to face with my sister for the very first time.
Meeting my birthmother.
Watching my daughter graduate high-school.
Walking through some very tough years and coming out on the other side better for it.
Realizing I can do all things through Christ.
Knowing God loves me and there is nothing I could ever do to make Him change His mind.
Those are just a sampling of some major turning points in my life. I could probably write a book about each of them. I've already written about one of those events. The thing is, as a writer, everything I experience will eventually show up in my writing whether I want it to or not.
I believe that every event in our lives is orchestrated in fine detail before we even take our first breath. That may seem a little spooky to some people, but I take comfort in knowing that God already knows how things are going to turn out. He's got my marriage in His hands. He's taking care of every detail, not only in my life, but in the lives of all the people I love and care about, whether they know it or not.
I worry about a lot of stuff, but really, if I believe what I've just written, why should I? Seriously, life is hard enough without stressing over every single thing that goes wrong. Sure, there are those times when things do go incredibly, horribly wrong, and we stand back in shock. Devastation rips at us. We just didn't see it coming.
How is that fair, we ask. I don't know if it's fair, but it is what it is. And no matter how bad things get, I know they're going to get better eventually.
Like a good book, I want my life to have a happy ending.
Things may not turn out exactly how I planned - sometimes I find this when I'm writing too - but that's okay.
Maybe there's a better plan, a better way.
Wouldn't it be nice to find one good thing in every day and hang that up on the wall of your memories? They don't have to be life-changing, but it's still life. Your life, my life.
And we only get one.
Tomorrow is a new day. Make the most of it.
Do you have some life-changing moments to share?
4 comments:
I didn't know it at the time...but when I saw my husband walk into Oakbrook Corporation (I was the receptionist) for the first time and thought, "Oh man, he's cute." That was life-changing.
Or when I first thought, "Maybe I should write a novel", opened a word doc and typed that first sentence. That was also life-changing.
So many more! Sometimes, small seemingly insignificant moments end up being life-changing.
Thank you for sharing some of yours. It sounds like there is so much more about you than I thought.
We are going through a life-changing moment as I type. Trusting God as my husband returns to college after losing his career almost 3 years ago--trusting God to supply our needs and trying to love life again:)
Wow--I just sorta blogged about life changers too (but not as eloquently as you!) Yes, my daughter just graduated, and we're entering a whole new season. It definitely takes some adjustment.
When my second-grade Sunday school teacher told us about Jesus and I fell in love with Him; when I prayed for a lonely preacher to find a wife; and when I went to a writers condference and decided, "This is what I want to do with my life."
Thanks for your thoughts; I look forward to becoming acquainted with you!
Jen
Audience of ONE
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