Going Left

I read something yesterday that really resonated with me. 

Ironically, the quote came from the wrapper of my Dove chocolate.  (Diets...am I right?)

I'm paraphrasing here because anyone who knows me knows that I have memory issues.  We'll just leave it at that.  The wrapper said something along the lines of this.

When things don't go right, go left.  

I smiled when I looked at it and then it was on my mind for the rest of the day.  I thought a lot about how many times I've gone "left" in my forty-one years of life. 

Looking back can be dangerous, but sometimes it is so helpful to see how far you've come.  I'm not a person who generally makes the right choice the first time.  I like to make things more challenging and usually, it takes my making the wrong choice to learn the lesson.  I've lived for a long time thinking I've messed things up, or that I'm a disaster. 

Honestly and truly, I am a bit of a disaster.  I'm not the most organized person you'll ever meet and that is putting it nicely.  I struggle with being tidy and am hardly ever on time.  There's more, but I think that is enough of a description.  I used to let the above definitions define me.  I used to think I was kind of a mess and that my life was just a reflection of all of the wrong choices I had made when life wasn't going right.  I've since realized this isn't the truth. 

And then, I saw the quote.  It made me think about how many times I've had to go left when things weren't going right.  All the times when I thought life was wrong was simply an opportunity to do it differently. 

If life had gone "right" from the get-go, I wouldn't be married to my husband.  I wouldn't have my boys. I wouldn't have the tolerant heart that I feel like I have.  I wouldn't understand others who are like me.  I wouldn't be a teacher.  I wouldn't be living in Mulvane. Etc., etc., etc.

I often think about one of my very favorite Bible verses and wonder if all of my "lefts" were actually part of HIS plan for my life.  When I was younger, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted.  "I" had a plan for my life that looked completely different from what it is now.  If my life had been "right" according to my plan, I'd never have all that I have today.  I can't help but think that God's plan for my life included some of the "lefts". 

I'm thankful for the mistakes.  I'm thankful for the lessons.  I'm thankful for the hard times.  I wouldn't be who I am if life had gone "right" all the time.  What about you?

Sometimes you have to trust the "left". 

Bless. 

Referee of Three