Journey of a Thousand Miles

I think the hardest part about going after my goals is not being able to see the finish line. All I see around me are obstacles and setbacks, and it's easy to wonder if I'm getting anywhere at all. Today was the hardest for my ambitious little heart. When a girl like me who is creative, smart, and intelligent is sitting in a temp agency's office that is asking her to alphabetize words, she starts to feel that her intelligence is being insulted. Why did I even go to college?! I didn't get a BACHELOR'S degree so I could re-learn the alphabet! Then, when I'm sitting in the waiting room to get food stamps, and all the people around me look on the verge of being homeless or having their 10th child, I start to think, This is not where I belong. How did I end up here? What's even more sad is that I actually qualified for food stamps. It can only get better from here, right? I was told that God sees our circumstances in a different light than we do, and...

As we approach the end of 2010, I like to reflect on the changes made in the past year and talk about my resolution for next year. My resolution for this past year was more of a list rather, and here it is in all it's entirety: apply to grad school take control of my life think more positively live for God's purpose and not my own define myself by how God views me and not how others view me don't take things so personally trust God more be happier forgive more be easier to get along with I have to say, I think I did a good job of accomplishing most of my goals on this list. I didn't accomplish #1, but that's what 2011 will be dedicated to. And for #2, I allowed God to take control of my life, rather than trying to control it myself. But #3-10, I feel I accomplished, and that is a good feeling. So now on to 2011... I want 2011 to be dedicated to getting back on the road again... on the road to my dreams, goals, and ultimately, to myself. In 2005, I took a long detour...

I prayed for God to give me what I need, and He delivered. Sometimes what we need isn't always what we want, but in the long run it is always better. I always learn things the best in hindsight. There have been many times in my life where I didn't get what I wanted, or maybe I did, and it didn't turn out exactly as I planned. But somehow, things worked out in a way that I got exactly what I needed, and sometimes that is a swift kick in the pants. I know that's how things panned out for me. I experienced this dilemma when I first graduated college and started looking for a job. I knew what I wanted but not what I needed. I kept praying "God, please give me this job. I need this job," but God had a better plan. I went a few months without a job when I first got my degree. I was living at home with my parents, my loans were coming in demanding to be paid, and still no income. I had big dreams of what I wanted to accomplish in my life, and it seemed that...