Day 189

Or, Choose Your Own Adventure

A while ago we got on a discussion about how to figure out “God’s will for your life”. I cringe at that phrase. There’s something so burdensome, unforgivingly authoritative, so…church-y about that it that I have to do the finger quotation marks every time I use it, lest anyone think that I, with all my postmodern and irreligious thoughts, would be caught seriously using such a phrase. People threw out their various 2 cents, myself included. I think I said something about “doing what you love and what’s meaningful to you, and you will find God in it.” I don’t know; there was more elaboration and it sounded pretty good to me at the time. And then someone said that “God’s will” (there I go again, with the quotation marks) isn’t a destination; we’re continually living in God’s will. Our day-to-day lives and interactions, the decisions we arrive at and turn away from, the relationships we make and break – God’s brought us to all of it. I find that incredibly beautiful and profound. Too often I hear “God’s will” spoken about with such finality, as if one day there will be a booming voice or little tugs on your heart strings, and you’ll suddenly know exact where and who you should be. Does that mean a profession? A place? A person? So what am I suppose to do in the meantime? I love the thought that God’s invited us not to a destination, but to a journey and a way of life that is lived out with small glimpses of redemption and reconciliation, contributing to the grander story that he’s crafting.

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