Hey blog, it’s been a little while. In all honesty, even though I absolutely love writing, I’ve been trying pretty hard to avoid writing another blog post. I mean, I’m a 17 year old and my Race hasn’t even started yet so what could I possibly have to talk about that would be interesting? But then I remembered why I was so excited to have a blog in the first place – not to merely entertain, but to have a platform where God can speak through me to touch as little as one person’s heart. So, today I’m going to be writing about a story that had an essential role in shaping me into the person I am today that was sparked by a conversation with a squad mate.
If you’re wondering from the title of this post, no I do not believe that everything happens for a reason. Of course I believe that God has a plan for each and every one of us, but I also believe in free will and that each of us has the power to change our future. That our lives aren’t set in stone and play out all according to plan. After all, God gave us the knowledge to know right from wrong and what good would that do if everything was completely out of our control? My take on this is that you can give reason to everything that happens in your life and here’s why.
A few years ago, I was involved in a car accident; rear ended by an 18-wheeler to be specific. Thankfully, myself and everyone else that was in the car are alive and thriving. However, for a while, that wasn’t the case. The 8 year old in the back seat had to be life flighted to the hospital and stayed in the PICU for about a week. Now, I’m not going to go too into detail about the wreck but rather what I learned from it.
To be concise, I learned that every time someone told me that everything happens for a reason, I would get very, very mad. And I’m talking terrible-two’s temper tantrum mad. In my mind, there’s no reason that an innocent eight year old child had to come so close to death, or that an incredible mother had to experience such heartbreak and grief just because of one person’s seconds of recklessness. I pray that I’m not offending anyone, but no piece of scripture could make me justify this happening. Watching an 8 year old learn how to walk again will do that to you.
And since then, since everyone involved is now healthy and healed, so many people have told me that this “must’ve happened for a reason”, that this must be apart of God’s plan. I hate to sound so pessimistic, but that is simply not how I view this. Yes, in the long run this did positively impact my spirituality and faith. Although an incredibly conflicting time for me, I was honored and blessed beyond belief to have witnessed a healing miracle right in front of my eyes and to have that ah-ha moment of knowing fully and truly with my heart that the prayers we send up do get heard and do get answered.
However, I know just as easily that this situation could have changed my life in a very different way. I know this because I definitely questioned my faith during this time, I was just so confused and angry at God. I could have easily walked away from my faith and from the Lord after such a traumatic event, but I didn’t. And that was my choice. I chose to put my trust and this little girl’s life in His hands. I chose to work on my faith until I had glued that last bit of its foundation in my heart and in my soul back together until it was solid again. Not walking away was my choice.
I could have easily chosen to take the conventional route and start my freshman year of college in the fall. But instead, I chose to listen to my heart and the Lord’s calling for my life to love and serve all of His people in such a raw and real way for 9 months.
What I want you to take from this is to stop waiting for life to happen to you. Faith is a choice. Grace is a choice. Living your life the way you want to and the way God knows you can is your choice. Accepting the Lord’s path for you and choosing to follow will make life such a beautiful thing.
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” – Galatians 5:13
