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I received a card that had the words, "The Lord has determined our path." This has always been a confusing topic for me, and I dont know if I fully understand it yet. I believe in free choice and free will given to us by God Himself. I believe we each make a choice as to the way we are going to think and act and react. The choice we make will determine the amount of pain and suffering we will endure on this Earth.
I also believe that God is all knowing, and if He knows everything, He knows what choices we are going to make, and what the outcomes will be. So, He knows our destiny. He orchestrated it. How then, can I believe in free choice? Thats the confusing part for me. I can decide if I am going to hang my coat up or put it on the chair, so having free choice, I decide to hang it up. However, God already knew that was the choice I was going to make, so He knows my destiny. It was preordained that I hang my coat up. Would I even have the thought to leave it on the chair?
Do you understand my dilemma? I know God knows everything, so he must know every move Im going to make before I make it, and every word Im going to say before I say it. How does that interpret into me having the choice to do what I choose to do? I am programmed, and yet, I know life is a place of learning lessons.
We go through situations that are painful, and turn into lessons we can apply to our lives, if we choose to do so. If the choice to stay home in a snow storm saves our lives, because if we chose to go out we would be killed in an accident, did we make that choice or did God?
Its hard for me to get a grasp on this destiny and fate angle of life. People do things and say they were destined to happen. A couple breaks up, and invariably someone will say, "Well, it was destined to happen." Well, if thats the case, where is their free will, or did they just make the wrong choices exercising that will? Did destiny and fate prevent them from living happily ever after, or the did choices they made?
Is it of no consequence to us that our Father has all the answers and we dont? Do we just live our lives making our choices, and end up in Heaven when we die? At the exact second God always knew we would! I still dont understand it. How can their be choices for us to make, if the answers are already mapped out? I guess I was never adequately explained this concept.
If God knows I am going to take a cookie out of the cookie jar, and my hand is on it, but I decide I dont want one now, was that the destiny, or was He wrong because He gave me free choice, and I changed my mind? I dont think thats it. I think He would have known the whole time that I was going to change my mind. Thats the destiny part. So then, where was my free will to choose one way or the other?
I guess its just that God knows everything, and we dont. So, we use our free will to make our choices, while God always knows whats going to happen. Destiny is our destiny, according to Gods plans, and kept secret from us. We have to go through our experiences to learn and grow. His destiny is what is really going to happen. Its hard sometimes to figure out the mysteries of the world, hence the name mysteries.
Im at a stage in my life that I am striving to just make the right decisions. To live a good, honest, rewarding life. To give back as much as I can, in as many ways as I can. To be fair and safe and secure. To have a standing prayer of "Help." To be loving and understanding and faithful. To enjoy what I have worked so hard for. To love and receive love back. To be focused in mind and strong in heart. To be able to laugh. To be able to breathe. This, I believe, is my destiny.
Susan Thom is the mother of three children, two sons, 17 and 21, and a daughter 22. Writing calms her, and gives her a place to go. By herself! Clears the head and gets it out. She lives in a rural area, with a lake and mountains, her son and her partner, and has loved writing since she was a child.
She certainly hopes you enjoy her take on life, and her style of communicating that in stories.
She has been on a journey of self discovery for twenty years, and has learned many things about the human mind, and how to maintain some semblance of calm and peace within.
If someone reads one of her stories, and relates to her feelings, and maybe gets a suggestion on how she dealt with them in a positive way, that would be the ultimate gift of her writing.
» left by James P Krehbiel(1,366) James P Krehbiel (1 year 69 days ago.)
Sue,
Don't analyze it so much. People sometimes make statements about the meaning of God because they don't know what else to say. Sometimes those statements can be hurtful like it was God's will to have 9/11 happen because of all the homosexuality. Stuff like that. Good questions though. Respond to this comment
» left by Susan Thom(9,201) Susan Thom (1 year 68 days ago.)
hi james, i've been questioning a lot this past year. some, i've found answers for, some not. you know james, i have a friend who is gay, i haven't see her for a few years, but we go way back to our teens, and i'll never forget when she told me (I already figured) and the anquish and pain she had gone through her whole life, and continues to, and yet, i would trust her with my life, she is honest and caring and responsible. she pays her taxes, works with a back disability, and lives her life. i know, like everything else in this world, there are always the minority who think they may be gay, or experiment and use the label for their convenience, or for attention, but the gay community suffers enough for what they go through, and we loving, caring human beings honestly believe that our Creator, their creator, could care! i've always questioned that way of thinking, too. thanks for reading my articles and commenting, i truly appreciate it. best regards, sue
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