I received the phone call of a lifetime two days ago – a phone call that allows me to hit the reset button on my life. My first thoughts after that call consisted of, “Wow! How often does that happen? How often does someone get to reset their entire life? It must be a rare occurrence. I am so blessed to have this amazing opportunity!”
For two days I have lived with joyful thoughts of making plans for my new life and I decided a few minutes ago that tonight was the night to tell everyone about the upcoming changes in my life. I picked up my journal and pen and wrote the first sentence. I had a plan for how this blog was going to go, but halfway through the first paragraph it changed. As I was writing “How often…” I realized I have had numerous opportunities to reset my life. I’ve just ignored them.
God has led me to many crossroads that would have been much better paths than the one I wandered on for most of my life. I’ve struggled on the same path for many, many years. Sometimes the path was easy to travel; but, more often than not, it was covered in obstacles. I have stumbled in bare feet over sharp gravel. I have stubbed my toes on numerous boulders. I have tripped over pot holes. I have even crawled over walls of debris to stay on a very painful path while ignoring easy detours that could have helped me avoid the debris pile. I have stopped to glance down crossroads before – crossroads covered in soft grass with beautiful wildflowers lining the sides. They often looked inviting; but fear of the unknown kept me moving forward, stumbling down my chosen treacherous path.
Eventually, I did take a crossroad but it wasn’t covered in soft grass in the beginning. It was rough, just not as rough as the road I traveled for so long. God never gave up on me. He knew how stubborn I was. He even knew how long I was going to stumble along before taking the opportunity He gave. I finally followed His lead. He led me on the new path for a while and it’s been a good one. The crossroad I chose was really scary in the beginning and wasn’t without a little sharp gravel, but that’s only because I chose the one with gravel rather than one of the earlier ones with soft grass.
I thought this second path was the one God intended me to follow for the rest of my life, but another road recently crossed my path. My first instinct was to stay on the path I was already on but then I realized this crossroad may have been another one of His. It’s scary to leave one path for another – at least it is for a person who doesn’t like change and has faced a lot of it in the last couple of years, but I’m doing it.
Despite my fear, I am hitting the reset button on Monday, the day after Christmas. My reset button is big and yellow and says Penske on the side of it. Once it’s loaded with everything I own, it will take me about 1,000 miles north. I am moving from Bay County, Florida to Bay County, Michigan to start my new job as an accountant. I am scared, but I am way more excited than I am scared. For once in my life I am going on faith and taking the crossroad God has given me without arguing with Him first. He will take care of any gravel and pot holes.
The reset button is scary but amazing at the same time.
forgiven faith 