Reaching - Photo by Monica Beck
What course is your life set on? Based on your life’s current trajectory (the sum total of your actions and choices), where do you think you will be five or ten years from now. In one sense, it’s really rather easy to predict. But where do you want to be? The answer to those two questions could be worlds apart. If so, what changes are necessary to see the life you want, become a reality?
For many people the life they would like to live always seems elusive, just out of reach. Simply wanting something different rarely produces it. Here’s a profound truth: I am where I am today because I have planned to be here. Even more provocative, I am who I am today because I have planned to be. Think about it for a moment. No planning, by default, is a form of planning. It’s planning which approaches life in a “caesura, sera, sera, whatever will be will be”, kind of way. Granted, the future is not ours to see, but the future of our life is also inextricably linked to the choices, actions, and decisions we make every day.
God has created us with a significant role to play in the unfolding of our life and destiny. Part of what it means to be created in the image of God is exercising the freedom and ability, while assuming the responsibility granted us to “co-create” with him as it pertains to the unfolding of our life and its impact on others. Our lack of engagement in that partnership whether by unwillingness, lack of relationship or ignorance, has untold fallout for us and those our lives could potentially impact.
Granted, there will always be things that happen to us of which we have no direct control over. However, even our choices and actions in those circumstances play a role in the shaping of who we are and ultimately, in our destiny.
So, back to the question I asked at the start, “What trajectory is your life currently set on?” How intentional (proactive) are you being about the development of the kind of person you are or want to be? How intentional (proactive) are you being about discovering and apprehending your unique life purpose and destiny? Where do you want to be five, ten, fifteen years from now? If you continue down the track you are currently on, will it get you there? What would be the benefits to you and others if you were to become more intentional about your life?
What would being more intentional about your life look like for you? Who might you pull in along side of you that could help you clarify your intentions, develop a plan and help you maintain momentum along the way? All of us need the help of others at times. Who might you be able to lean on in this process?
Remember, life is a journey, a challenge, an adventure with outcomes that affect you and others in very dramatic ways. Engage it in such a way that the very best outcomes can be assured for the benefit of others and the glory of God.