We were kids with big dreams of becoming the world's greatest something. Maybe you wanted to be an astronaut, cowboy, princess or superhero. Obviously that rarely works out for people, and the truth is, that's perfectly fine. From the time we're young, we try to plan how we want our lives to turn out. But things often do not go according to what we want. The only predictable thing about life is that it is entirely unpredictable.
This is just as much written to myself as anyone else. I've always been obsessed with being in control of every part of my life. If I find that something is happening that is not exactly what I want, I begin to stress out. I learned that my plans do not always play out "correctly," and I am trying to accept the fact that it may always be difficult.
Since I was eight years old, I planned what I wanted to be when I was an adult, what I wanted my family to look like and what I wanted to happen to me as I aged. Though I am only 19 now, a lot of the events in my life have not gone according to plan.
I used to get distraught with any deviation from my self-drawn path, and truthfully I still do. I am not a fan of being out of control, but in retrospect, I am glad I cannot determine my own life. Hindsight has 20/20 vision, and when I think back on my life I cannot imagine a better road to have taken.
Luckily, God already has a plan for everyone. So we should not worry about it. We may not realize it, but the events that happen are designed to mold us. If my life played out the way I envisioned it, I would not enjoy it as much.
Younger me would try to avoid every possible traumatic event. Now, I try to be content with, and even embrace, them. Obviously no one wants to be sad or to suffer, but bad times do so much good in the mapping of our lives. If we passed them up, life would not be worth living.
From what I can tell, life is very complicated. Everyone is running around with a million things to do. Out of the million things to take care of, we only have control over a handful of those. Realizing that fact is scary, but it also makes life less complicated. I learned a long time ago that when I let God control my life, I am happier and less stressed.
Happiness and success are subjective and sought after. Everyone defines happiness and success differently, but everyone wants both. The desire for what we perceive as a good life is what causes us to plan every little detail. Now, I am not an expert on how to live happily, but I do know that God knows better than we do. As difficult as it is, forgetting our own plans, and living out the path God lays before us both makes for a great life.
