Fulfilling My Destiny

   

      God has a way of getting our attention.  When we recognize Him as Lord and Savior, our plans change as our lives take on new meaning and direction.  I remember in ninth grade thinking I’d like to become a teacher.  But then I realized that would require college, and since we had no money, college would likely not be an option.  It never occurred to me that I might have been able to attend on a scholarship!  I’m not certain I even knew what a scholarship was.  As it was, I was the first in my family to even graduate from high school!

          As my high school years continued, I altered from teaching to a business track.  That could be accomplished by doing well in classes, and while a business degree would have raised my starting pay, I figured high school with good grades would be enough.

Those plans changed again when I met my ‘now’ husband.  Instead of going to work, I got married, and had children.  Even so, I had always been a ‘writer of something!’  I was a journal keeper and kept diaries even for my little ones (Only the first three. After that, time was such a precious commodity, the next two didn’t fare so well!) so they could see a glimpse of what their childhood was like. 

Imagine my surprise when my last child was born, that I decided to begin writing ‘for real!’  I’ve tried to decide what my starting point was; and there are moments in the files of my memory, that give me a clue it wasn’t as sudden an idea, as it seems.

God laid the groundwork for my life before I was even born.  I had choices, however, and possibly (maybe even probably) took the ‘scenic route’ to get to where God wanted me.  As I cast glances back over my life, especially when I was younger, I wonder if I could have begun writing sooner, rather than later—in my mid thirties.  Yet, it’s because of my life’s experiences I am able to write with heart.  That’s not to suggest writers shouldn’t begin early.  But sometimes there are those of us who don’t recognize God’s tugging toward his ‘blueprints’ right away.  

I read an article recently about reaching for the destiny God has designed for us.  God absolutely has a plan.  Not only must we recognize it and then choose it, we also must understand that his plan is not for us alone.  While writing seems like a very solitary and sometimes private journey, the words put on paper aren’t just for me.  They are for everyone who reads them and then listens to what God wants them to know.  Even though the words are the same for every reader, the meaning can be quite different.

This isn’t just true of writing.  It’s true for every destiny of ministry God gives us.  We are placed here for a purpose; a purpose only we can fulfill.  God gives us the wisdom to touch people’s lives, even if only for a moment—and sometimes even when we aren’t aware.

I encourage you, to recognize the road God is calling you toward –and follow.  It may well be out of your comfort zone, and the last thing you expected.  Trust him to use that calling to be the witness he wants you to be.  You will be blessing others, just as he will bless you.