Life is a journey that sometimes takes us to destinations we never intended to arrive at.
I’m sure most of us have packed a suitcase for a vacation or business trip, and in packing, we had our destination in mind. We carefully thought through the items and clothes needed for our time away (some of us do a lot more thinking than necessary). We bought a plane ticket to our desired destination or pointed our car in the general direction of where we wanted to go. Have you ever ended up at said destination only to find that you have a suitcase that is three-quarters full of the wrong items?
I once took a trip to Marco Island, FL and spent the first two days as planned…sleeping in, having brunch downstairs while looking out at the ocean, and then plopped down on the white sands beach with a good book. The rest of the week, however, looked a little bit different. The remnants of a hurricane blew on shore and the entire Florida Gulf Coast was affected. No more need for my swimsuit, sunglasses and sunscreen. Instead an umbrella, rain boots, and some sort of flotation device would have been more useful! I sat in the hotel room (with the same good book) and watched as the palm trees bent nearly to the ground in the gale force winds and torrential rain. After a few days, the tropical storm had passed and the sunshine returned…just in time for us to board the plane and head home.
I would venture to say that most of us also have set out in life with certain destinations in mind. But then “life” happens on the way to our destination and we end up somewhere we never thought we’d be with a suitcase full of stuff that is not useful for the situation we find ourselves in. The beautiful thing is that life is a journey. We are not stuck at an undesired destination or with a suitcase filled with all the wrong items. We can repack, regroup and ultimately keep moving to a more desirable place. That oftentimes takes intentionality and work, but can most definitely be accomplished.
This kind of change is most successfully done in community, with others to encourage you along the way. My heart’s desire is that this blog will be a place to do just that. I invite you to come along for the journey, find friends who will support you, words that will encourage you, and discover strength to make the necessary course corrections.
May you find hope in your journey!
Natalie ~
