At first this quote really ticked me off. I don't want every choice I made to reflect who I am as a person. I read this quote over and over again hoping that I would come to a different conclusion. Then it finally hit me...
I have made plenty of stupid decisions in my life. Growing up as a pastor's kid, people expected me to have my life together and make great choices ALL THE TIME. And if I'm being honest...that just isn't what happened. I have made horrible choices, choices that I was sure was going to alter my destiny in a negative way, but then after every bad choice, God's grace was waiting for me at the other end.
Every choice, of course, had its consequence, but I never felt that God had given up on me, in fact, I felt like my Heavenly Father was proud of me. Proud, not that I made the choice I made, but proud that I realized the error of my ways and turned back to God's plan for my life.
The choices that I have made in life (good and bad) are all apart of my story. They make me who I am today. Whether the choices are big ones, like the choice to be a Christian and follow Jesus with my whole heart, or choosing what college to attend, or littler choices, like what sports I will play in high school, all of those choices make up who I am.
Looking back on my life, there are certain decisions that I made that I wish I could re-due. When I think about it, I wonder what my life would look like if I had made a different decision. Would I be where I am today had I made a different decision? I may even start to regret the decision, then I remember the girl I shared my story with. This girl was facing the same decision and she asked for my help. Instead of giving advice, I just told her my story so that maybe she could get a glimpse of what would happen if she made the same decision that I made (and it was the wrong one). So instead of regret, I am relieved that I am able to share my mistakes with others so they don't have to make the same mistake that I made.
Some of the decisions affected me in negative ways, and by making that decision and facing the hard consequences, I learned what strength really was, and what courage really was. In that moment, it wasn't my decision that defined me, but how I overcame in the end. Now that I made the choice, what did I do with the situation that was in front of me? I learned character and bravery. In my short 23 years of life I have learned some hard life choices, and yes, they do show who I truly am... I am a girl, on a journey to find out all that God wants her to be. Some lessons were learned the hard way, others by example (which is much easier!!!!).
Our choices become apart of a bigger, more beautiful story that will one day change the world. At least that is the way that I see it.
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