Fate has been heavy on my mind this afternoon. As I was leaving work, I was thinking about all the choices I have made in my life. Each choice was like a path that eventually led me to the life I have right now. And I'm quite happy with where I am now. Or, more precisely, who I am with now.
I went to elementary school in a very small town. Like, I had 12 other students in my grade level. When I was in 5th grade, I made the difficult decision to leave my comfort zone and transfer to the largest school district in my county in order to challenge myself. I started middle school in a very large, confusing school, knowing only two other people in my class. It was in this school that I started that path to my current road. After succeeding in middle and high school, I was offered scholarships to various universities in Oklahoma - scholarships I may not have been offered had I not transferred schools in 6th grade.
I received the same scholarship offers to both OSU and OU, but I chose to attend Oklahoma State and major in pre-med. Eventually (or after a semester), I chose to change my major to Psychology. Having no idea what I would do with a degree in Psychology, I discovered in my fall senior semester that I could attend graduate school to become a counselor. Rather than end my college career in 2009, I applied to OSU's counseling program. Again, another choice as I could have gone to other schools.
While in grad school, I found that I much preferred working in a school to working in a community. However, rather than seeking out school counseling positions in various cities around the state (or outside the state), I chose to stay in Stillwater and work for a community agency after graduation. It was after one early night of work that a friend invited me to go out for one of her friend's birthdays. I'm not typically a party girl, nor do I go out to bars with people I don't know. My friend, D, invited me over, and while I was there, I was introduced to D's roommate's friend. Little did I know that the choice to put my number in his phone (a FIRST for me) would lead to me being happily married a few years later.
It's terrifying that a change at any of those paths might have prevented me from finding C. Now maybe we would have found each other - I like to think we would have - but it's awe-inspiring to realize how precisely things had to work out for it to happen.
Things have a way of falling into place. And while I used the word fate earlier, I truly believe those paths were destined by God. God has plans for each of us. I am not very good at trusting those plans, and it is something I need to work on. After all, He hasn't led me astray yet.
Live from Okie Land,
E
