Do you ever think about the craziness of life? All the choices? All the forks in the road? Accumulating over the course of your existence? Bringing you exactly where you are today?
Sometimes I find myself thinking about these pivotal moments that might not have seemed so monumental at the time.
Like when I chose to go to the University of Wisconsin instead of the University of Iowa. It was freshman year, in my dorm room in Madison, when I gave my life to Christ. Would I have done that in Iowa?
Or when I chose to take two years off after my freshman year so I could gain residency and pay in-state tuition. During my college intermission, I got a job as a receptionist and met my husband. Would we have met if I hadn’t taken those two years off?
Or when we chose to wait five years before having kids. Would my son be here if we’d decided to try earlier?
How different would my life look if I would have gone to Iowa, if I wouldn’t have married Ryan, if I never had my son?
Would I be writing?
What about all the people I know because I’m exactly where I’m at right now? Where would they be? What would they be doing? Would I be who I am today, would they be who they are today, if we never would have crossed paths?
Our lives and choices make splashes that ripple so much farther than we know.
I love looking back at those pivotal moments and seeing how God has orchestrated so many things, even before I knew Him, to bring me right here.
Living in Iowa. A stay-at-home mom. A wife. A writer. A believer.
Let’s Talk: What are some pivotal moments from your past? Do you ever think about what life would look like if you’d gone left instead of right?
🙂 This post makes me smile. Like you, I sometimes look back and think, "what if?" Proverbs 16:9 has come to mean so much to me over the past few years- In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.
I am so grateful for every curve, every road bump, every fork and every hurdle. I love hindsight. It reminds me now that God was in control then, too.
So much wonderful food for thought, Katie! There's not enough room here to share the pivots God orchestrated, but it certainly has been a sweet journey remembering them this morning. Blessings!
This is a great blog topic. I'm a Nebraska girl and planned to attend Iowa State. About a month before I was set to leave, I changed my mind and stayed in Nebraska. Six months later, I met the man I've been married to for 23 years. I do believe that God plays an incredible role in guiding us. That's all I usually ask for, it for him to guide me. We have no ideas the long term ripple affects of our decisions. We just have to pray that he will guide us to make the right decisions.
Love that truth, Sandy. 🙂
This is my first time at your blog. I love it.
A few things we have in common:
I am a mid-west girl.
I gave my life to Christ my freshman year of college.
I waited 5 years to have kids, too.
Regarding pivotal moments…yes, I think about those things all the time. But sometimes when I'm reading the Word, I see where God's carried out His will, no matter what the people did. It gives me peace to think that if I take a wrong turn or make a bad decision, God can still see to it that His will is accomplished in my life. Like I'm not going to totally screw up "Plan A." I just think God is so much bigger than our little day-to-day decisions.
Congrats on getting your first novel published! How exciting.
Blessings,
Sandy
Oh, I don't know if I'm brave enough to answer this question. I have a love/hate relationship with the what if game. I think we all do. Sometimes I feel confident and I'm glad I've done what I've done, right or wrong, because I always learn from it. But then there are mornings I wake up and say, "How did I get here?" My battle right now is knowing that taking up writing again is the best thing I could've done, but yet not having as much time as I'd like to devote to it. I've tried many things, even scheduling my days off to include writing activities, but then stuff gets in the way. I feel like I'm always scrambling, but I'm going to keep working at it. After all, season 3 of Vampire Diaries starts soon, so we better get our writing done ahead, right Katie? 😉 Thanks for such a great thought provoking post. It was nice to stop over again.
Thought-provoking post. I think my most pivotal moment was when I broke up with my near-fiance, which led to my leaving the cult. If I had stayed…yikes!
I've pondered how my life has turned out and marveled at the ways the Lord was working even when I couldn't see it.
The Lord knew when I insisted on studying German in high school instead of the Spanish my mom said would be far more practical in California that I'd marry a great guy who would whisk me off to live in Germany for four wonderful years.
The Lord knew when I got that job as an account clerk in a publishing company, changed my major from business to mass communication/journalism, and became an assistant editor that I'd finally end up following my dream of being a published author and be grateful for my education and experience.
The Lord knew when I finaled in a national contest and was introduced to the world of writers in cyberspace that I'd meet awesome people like YOU.
With a track record like this, it makes sense to trust my life into the Lord's capable hands.
I love reading these comments and stories! Seems like how we meet our significant other and which college we go to often go together!
Lacie – so funny about turning into Wendy. I love Wendy, so perhaps she's rubbing off on me. She's the queen of deep thoughts:)
I think about this a lot. One of my greatest moments was when I one day announced to my roomates in college I was letting go and letting God take over. I swore off guys etc. The next weekend I finally went on that retreat my church offered and guess what, not only did I find a wonderful group of new friends, but God introduced me to the man I would marry for the first time:)
LOL! I remember having this discussion with my mom when I was a teenager. Not about my own decisions, but about hers and my dads. What if they had never met? What if they hadn't gotten married? What if they'd decided to stop having kids after one?
The beautiful thing I realize when I start pulling on these threads is that God has it all under control. Nothing happens to surprise Him, and since He's had a plan for you and me since before creation, we're right where we're supposed to be.
My car accident and coma during the middle of my senior year of high school shredded up my projected life map. At the end of that ordeal, I had to back out of attending Taylor University (and my room assignment with my best friend!), at least for a year. It felt horrible to watch dreams go down the drain. What an awful gurgling sound. But once time gave me a little more space to breathe, I began to see the larger ways God had been preparing me and protecting me all along. Life is a strange. God is good. All the time.
Our choices definitely have a domino effect, don't they? I think about how my life might have been different all the time and although there are choices that I probably would have done differently, ultimately they helped to lead me to where I am now…and that's not a bad place to be. 😉
I think you're turning into Wendy! All this deep thinking…LOL!
Fascinating topic! My DH and I met in high school our junior year. If my family hadn't moved to the area five years earlier (we really wanted to stay where we were) and if my husband's family hadn't moved there that year of high school, we wouldn't have met. Thank goodness the Lord guides our paths, often when we don't even know it.
Six weeks before I met my husband, I broke off an engagement. People told me I was crazy to walk away from "the perfect guy." (They didn't know the whole story.)
Oh, yeah. I think about choices all the time.
One of my most pivotal was switching my major. I tend to be stubborn so when I was struggling with my major I refused to admit it which sent me into a slight depression. Eventually I realized that I was doing something that wasn't making me happy, just to say I could do it. So I switched. One of the best decisions ever. And, I came away with the understanding that yes, it is okay to push yourself, but if you're not going to be happy, its not worth it.
Great post Katie!
Katie, you and I have had this conversation before. It's so amazing to look back and see God's hand even when you didn't thing He was watching or that He cared. It's only when we start to learn who He is, that we understand that we were never left alone. AMAZING.
I'd have to side with Katie in that my choice of college was probably the most pivotal point for me, because that's where I ended up meeting my hubby.
I totally understand this line of thinking. Thanks for taking the time to remind us, Katie. 🙂
I think about this a lot. I, also, like looking back at those moments to see where they have led me. It's quite amazing.
Oh yeah, I def. think about all this. I probably spend too much time thinking about past decisions and not future ones. Ha! It's really amazing though, how choices work.
As you could guess, I'm pretty reflective like this, yes. I'm thankful. I've gone down some bumpy roads, but it's made my feet tough.
And I'm still walking barefoot.
~ Wendy
Wow! love this post! I chose to go to a Christian private College for Undergrad instead of a Public School, and i wonder if i would have been the same person had i gone to public school, because at my College, living a Christian life was the focus, but the quality of education was excellent and i left that school a more well-rounded person. I sometimes wonder if i had done my Grad school somewhere else besides in Wisconsin, if i would have had the same personal and emotional struggles that i do have now, which i consider a challenge, but an excellent opportunity to lean closer to God.
I just trust God had a hand in the pivotal moments of my life. 🙂
You are Iowan, just like me. I too struggled with the decision of going to Iowa vs a different college. While initially I did go to a different college, I ended up transferring to Iowa for the writing program. I HATED it the first 2 years I was there, but I met my fiance. It's hard to regret something you hate when had you made a different choice…you wouldn't have what you love.
Great topic today!
A thought provoking, deep topic today, Katie.
I think about those things often. The college I attended is consolidating with a their sister liberal arts school soon and Central Bible College will be no more.
I wonder where would I be had it not been there all those years ago. That's where I met my husband.
Great post!
My husband and I think about these things ALL the time. It's amazing he and I met at the exact time we did – he from Oregon visiting KY where I was. It's really awesome how much God had to play and continues to play such a huge role in our lives.
This is deep for an early Wed. Morning. I trust God has a plan for me and I also trust that screw it up far more often then I let Him direct me. Whether I go left or right, I take comfort in knowing God will get me through it!
Wow, pivotal moments? So many to choose from. Deciding to skip lectures in college to spend the rest of the day talking to the amazingly interesting young woman who would become my wife, that's one. Having the guts to kiss her for the first time two days later. 🙂
Taking a chance on a contest to win a publishing contract was another big one. If I'd held out for an agent, would I be gearing up for my first release next year?
There are some choices I'm not so proud of, too. Things I've looked back at as mistakes, some of which I've been forgiven for, others which still dwell on my mind.