How Did I Get Here?

Have you ever stopped and wondered how did I get here – wherever here might be? Now that I’m probably over half way through my life, I’ve been taking more time to reflect. I do think about the future. What do I want to accomplish with what’s left of my life? How do I want to do those things?

However, I’ve been looking back a lot at where I’ve come from and the decisions I’ve made too. Still today, I question if I made the right choices in some circumstances. I’ve even thought about the circumstances that gave me little choices, the paths I felt forced to take, and events that were beyond my control.

I’m sure I’m worrying too much over things that cannot be changed. Maybe, I’m even experiencing a little bit of a midlife crisis? It’s certainly not that I regret all of my own choices or that I’ve had a bad life by any means. I am very blessed beyond measure and thankful. Some of my questions are over insignificant things, and a few are certainly bigger. However, if I feel like this sometimes, I can’t help but think that I’m not alone in this.

So, how did I get here? How did I end up living here? How did I end up doing what I do? If I had chosen another path, would I have encountered the problems I’ve had? Could something that just didn’t turn out right in my life or as expected been different?

If you are feeling like I am, know that you and I are probably in good company. That company can be found when we open our Bible. I think of Joseph, his dreams, his heartaches, and journey. There’s Moses who grew up as an Egyptian only later to find out who he really was and what God had planned for him. There’s Ruth who followed her mother-in-law to a strange land. David was on the run before becoming king. How about the Israelites who lost their home – think about Daniel and Ezekiel? And of course, there’s Jesus’ chosen apostles who had no idea what was to come.

There are certainly more Biblical characters I could name. I’m also still left with my own unanswered questions. However, as I continue to reflect, there is one thing mighty and true thing that I hold onto, especially when I don’t understand how I got here. In all of these examples, God was with each of them. He was right there with them through every little bit of it. And He is with me and you wherever we may be too!

I’m sure over the course of my life I’ve been tested, refined, unknowingly protected, and sent. And sometimes, my decisions certainly have not been the best or what God would have wanted me to do. Yet, I know He forgives me. And with every step, God was with me, and He is with me where I am today.

Through all of life’s changes, God is our constant. Wherever you are today, remember He is near. Wherever you go tomorrow, remember He sees ahead and is there. Hope, love, forgiveness, and certainty can be found in Him.