When life isn’t what you envisioned….

Last week have been my husband, Ross’ 61st birthday. It is difficult to believe he has been gone for almost eight years now.

When milestone days like this creep up it gives me pause to reflect on the way I had envisioned my life before losing Ross and later losing my son.

Ross and I had a high school romance and married soon after graduating from college. We had a good 35 years together. When I said ‘I do’ I undoubtedly thought we would grow old together; never in a million years did I envision myself as a single mother, much less a single grandmother. Two years before Ross passed away, we had purposefully downsized into what I saw as our family home where the kids would eventually return with their own families. We had even remodeled the basement; in preparation for having plenty of room for holiday visits, vacation times, and so on. It was a beautiful plan.

I think so many people who have had to face similar unimaginable adversities, tend to shy away from envisioning, and especially shy way from writing out what they want their future to look like. It would be so easy to say ‘with so many things outside of my control why bother, right?’

One of my favorite quotes is by Andy Stanley: ‘Pencil in your plans but write your vision in ink.’ How I translate this is, your vision (the strong desires of your heart and soul) is there because when you follow your vision it will reveal your purpose. God did not place those yearnings in your heart by accident. I believe they are calling to you because they are revealing your purpose and true identity. Even with all of the changes in my life, my purpose has not changed. As a matter of fact, these circumstances have only fueled my purpose more.

Writing your plans (the actions that you take) in pencil allows you to change course when the unexpected happen. Even though my family dynamic has changed drastically and the way in which it is playing out is not at all how I envisioned it, I still take action towards my purpose every day. I take time to absorb the changes, give time and space for me and for grief, and surround myself with people who love me through it all and remind me of how much they believe in me.

I truly know that when I wrote out my first life vision over 30 years ago that God was preparing me for this time. He knew what was coming, and all those years of being anchored in my vision, and helping hundreds of people write theirs, was only to build a rock solid foundation for carrying out the mission I have now.

As we approach the mid-point of 2022, I encourage you to really take some time to write out your vision in ink, and pencil in your plans to finish this year strong. I will always be here to guide you and want you to know how passionate I feel about people following their purpose now more than ever!