When You Graduate
A while back, I read Shōgun, a novel about sixteenth century Japan. It is written by James Clavell, an author who is brilliant at weaving history into fictional plots. The story captured my imagination. I was eager to read the rich descriptions of culture and ideology.
Lately, I have been mulling over one scene in the book. A devastating earthquake rocks a village. Lives are lost. Property is destroyed. The main characters' lives are threatened. Yet, after the powerful tremors finally ceased, the people threw back their heads and laughed. Laughed! And then they all shrugged off the tragedy as karma, as fate, as the reaping of past deeds.
Now I don't believe in karma in the same sense, as an inanimate force out there that ordains my destiny. But I do believe in the Will of God. I believe some things in my life were destined, like marrying your Daddy. I had a sense that I was to meet, or at least hear of, my husband 25 years after I made a commitment to follow Christ as a young six year old. On my 31st birthday, a friend of mine told me about your Daddy. She thought it would be a good idea if we would meet. Well, we met, started dating, were engaged and now married. So, 6 + 25 = 31, right? Well, that is just too freaky to be a coincidence!
Other things in my life have occurred because of the natural consequences of my actions or the actions of others or the laws of nature. When I was a young girl, I touched a faulty light switch with wet hands while visiting relatives in India. I received an electrical shock. Thankfully, I survived. But, I still experienced current electricity coursing though my body. The world still works in a certain way (unless God's alters the laws in some way to intervene).
Yet, I think there are other things in life that transpire due to, well, "karma". I like to think of it as the lowercase will of God. God allows an element of randomness to our lives. Don't get me wrong. God is completely in control. He knows what will occur (though sometimes I wonder if God sometimes is surprised). And He can use it for good. But I don't think every infinitesimal moment of my life is planned out. Some things just... happen. For instance, was it predestined for me to become a teacher? Maybe. Maybe not. Could I have taken on another profession? Possibly. I think I have the talents to be successful in more than one career. I guess if God had a big issue with my decision, He would have slammed the door of opportunity shut. Or not.
As you can see, it is complicated!
So, why do I write about this? Because I think I have spent too much time in my life wondering if I was making the right decision or if there is some Divine Will out there that I needed to ascertain before moving forward. I spent much time seeking God, which is a good thing to do. But I was seeking God for the wrong reasons. I wanted to know if I was RIGHT. Ambiguity terrified me. It is true that sometimes the confirmations came, like in the case of your Daddy. But other times, life just happened, like in the case of deciding whether or not your Daddy and I should add child number three to the mix. In that instance, too many things seemed to hinder our decision to move forward. And before we knew it, we hit our fourth decade. So, was it God's Will to cause us to hesitate or was it God's will to let us choose "no". Truly, I don't know. Nonetheless, does that mean God will be angry that I made a decision without some clear-cut divine revelation from above? No, I don't think so. We sought God the best we could. We made a decision based on the available data. In the end, there was no right or wrong answer. God let us choose.
This week marked the graduation of Grade 12's at your Daddy's school. And many of these young men and women will need to make numerous decisions independent of their parents. When you get to that stage, kids, I advise you to make your decisions in cooperation with God. Seeking Him for the purpose of loving Him (instead of self-righteousness). Embracing Him as your guide. Sometimes He will be explicitly clear as to what you need to do. Other times, He will trust you, YES, trust you to make the decision for yourself. He has a purpose for your life. Many things will occur because of His Divine Will. And other things will occur because He willed you to think for yourself.
Lately, I have been mulling over one scene in the book. A devastating earthquake rocks a village. Lives are lost. Property is destroyed. The main characters' lives are threatened. Yet, after the powerful tremors finally ceased, the people threw back their heads and laughed. Laughed! And then they all shrugged off the tragedy as karma, as fate, as the reaping of past deeds.
Now I don't believe in karma in the same sense, as an inanimate force out there that ordains my destiny. But I do believe in the Will of God. I believe some things in my life were destined, like marrying your Daddy. I had a sense that I was to meet, or at least hear of, my husband 25 years after I made a commitment to follow Christ as a young six year old. On my 31st birthday, a friend of mine told me about your Daddy. She thought it would be a good idea if we would meet. Well, we met, started dating, were engaged and now married. So, 6 + 25 = 31, right? Well, that is just too freaky to be a coincidence!
Other things in my life have occurred because of the natural consequences of my actions or the actions of others or the laws of nature. When I was a young girl, I touched a faulty light switch with wet hands while visiting relatives in India. I received an electrical shock. Thankfully, I survived. But, I still experienced current electricity coursing though my body. The world still works in a certain way (unless God's alters the laws in some way to intervene).
Yet, I think there are other things in life that transpire due to, well, "karma". I like to think of it as the lowercase will of God. God allows an element of randomness to our lives. Don't get me wrong. God is completely in control. He knows what will occur (though sometimes I wonder if God sometimes is surprised). And He can use it for good. But I don't think every infinitesimal moment of my life is planned out. Some things just... happen. For instance, was it predestined for me to become a teacher? Maybe. Maybe not. Could I have taken on another profession? Possibly. I think I have the talents to be successful in more than one career. I guess if God had a big issue with my decision, He would have slammed the door of opportunity shut. Or not.
As you can see, it is complicated!
So, why do I write about this? Because I think I have spent too much time in my life wondering if I was making the right decision or if there is some Divine Will out there that I needed to ascertain before moving forward. I spent much time seeking God, which is a good thing to do. But I was seeking God for the wrong reasons. I wanted to know if I was RIGHT. Ambiguity terrified me. It is true that sometimes the confirmations came, like in the case of your Daddy. But other times, life just happened, like in the case of deciding whether or not your Daddy and I should add child number three to the mix. In that instance, too many things seemed to hinder our decision to move forward. And before we knew it, we hit our fourth decade. So, was it God's Will to cause us to hesitate or was it God's will to let us choose "no". Truly, I don't know. Nonetheless, does that mean God will be angry that I made a decision without some clear-cut divine revelation from above? No, I don't think so. We sought God the best we could. We made a decision based on the available data. In the end, there was no right or wrong answer. God let us choose.
This week marked the graduation of Grade 12's at your Daddy's school. And many of these young men and women will need to make numerous decisions independent of their parents. When you get to that stage, kids, I advise you to make your decisions in cooperation with God. Seeking Him for the purpose of loving Him (instead of self-righteousness). Embracing Him as your guide. Sometimes He will be explicitly clear as to what you need to do. Other times, He will trust you, YES, trust you to make the decision for yourself. He has a purpose for your life. Many things will occur because of His Divine Will. And other things will occur because He willed you to think for yourself.