Embrace uncertainty.
Some of the most beautiful chapters
in our lives won’t have a title until much later.
-Bob Goff
As a 23-year old, fresh out of grad school, I was certain of one thing. I was going to be a teacher. My entire career. Nothing but the classroom for me. Although developing curriculum and supporting other teachers were options for later in my career, really all I wanted to do for the next 30+ years was to be in the classroom. Even after a few years of educating elementary school children under my belt, I dismissed the promptings of my colleagues to pursue administration. No, the classroom was where I wanted to be!
Fast-forward 14 years and ask me how that worked out for me! Often in life, I look back at my younger self and just laugh. I realize, the things that I was so certain about at the time, I had no clue! Despite the definitive claims I made about what I was (or was not) going to do, life had other plans.
Now that I am a bit wiser (the product of some unexpected starts, stops, detours and bumps along the way) there is one thing that is clear. The only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty. Even with the most careful of plans, laid out and calculated to the most minute detail, the unexpected is bound to happen. Understanding that fact is okay. Embracing that fact, well that makes life a little more interesting!
When 10 years ago, my desire for a life-long career in the classroom took an unexpected turn in a completely opposite direction, surprisingly I was filled with excitement and anticipation as I stepped out on faith. Although I missed the classroom, I found a new career that brought just as much joy and engaged a different part of my diverse skill-set.
My life is beginning to veer in a new direction again. I have no idea where my current passions and enhanced capabilities will lead me. But I am looking forward to the journey. What a marvel it will be when in 3, 5, 15 or more years I look back on this present season of my life. At that time, I will be able to celebrate the beauty of what was uncovered by accepting the invitation into the unknown.