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This is the Way

             Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaish 30:21)

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

          Another section of my homework is to examine life experiences have shaped me into who I am. In this case, I’m fortunate because part of another challenge given me by someone else led me to produce a list I laughingly call a “Boring Tale of a Failed and Incidental Life.” It begins with going to college, so I should add the earlier experiences, but it’s three pages long and doesn’t include my early life. It is three pages long, so I won’t bore you.

          I gave my list the name I did because very few of the items on it are even remotely exciting. But boredom is part of the message. When I was in Toastmasters, I gave a speech comparing two collections with life. The first collection was swords. The second was letter openers. I ended up with lots more letter openers than swords. They cost less, are easier to store, and – “how often do you have an opportunity to use a sword?”  It’s the smaller events that tend to form our lives. The big events are flashy and can certainly influence one greatly but it’s the smaller, less expensive events that I think tend to shape our lives more. It’s hard to miss the big events and their influence, but the influence of small events may sneak up on us.

          I’ll give you just one example of one in my life. When I worked in the Courthouse, the county executive asked me to put together an “emergency preparedness handbook” for county departments. Since then, I have had recurring bouts of “I’m not prepared for emergencies.” Usually, I have puttered around, found out how much being prepared cost, and given up. Unsurprisingly, in 2020, I found myself “unprepared” again. This time I started with “I can’t afford…” but followed up with, “But I can learn.” And that was the beginning of many changes and positive challenges in my life.

What events have influenced your life? How have they influenced it?

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