Is it important to know where we are going and where we want to be?
Or is it okay just to walk this earth without aim, responding to whatever appeals to our senses?
Many people when confronted with these questions would say that having a vision for the future is important. But does such vision really matter when it comes to the details of our day-to-day lives?
In March of 2006 my cell phone rang. It was our son calling from D.C. His tone and the words he spoke will remain forever in my memory. “Mom, I can’t stay on the phone. We just found out that Taylor is pregnant, and the doctor is giving our baby a zero percent chance of survival. He tells us we need to terminate the pregnancy.”
Rob and Taylor already had one beautiful, healthy 20-month-old son. Our families had never had problems related to pregnancy. We understood nothing about such a diagnosis. Physical health had always been a blessing in our lives.
How could this be?
With such news, the normal reaction is to spend some time in shock and denial, which we did. Then our coping mechanisms kicked in.
In my family, we already had a habit of deciding where we wanted to be, even in situations like this. As we began to cope with the difficult circumstances, we made a determined decision to picture in our minds what it is that we wanted.
We wanted a live baby. We wanted a healthy baby. And we lined our actions up with that determined belief.
Thankfully, one month ago, we celebrated Sebastian’s seventh birthday. (You can read the full story at www.godsmiracleofsebastian.com.)
But sometimes what God wants is different from what we want, and our ultimate desire must be the same as His. Three years after the birth of Sebastian, we prayed for another baby in our family, but she was taken from us before she was born. Although our hope once again had been for a healthy baby, our ultimate vision was—and still is—that God’s will be done, even in very heartbreaking times.
Each and every day you and I are faced with choices. Some decisions are life altering. When I do not keep my focus on where I am and where I am going, I can quickly find myself in a mess. And by this stage of life, you can bet that, regrettably, I’ve done that a few times. I have learned it is not good to waver deliberately from the path that leads me toward that vision of where I am going—which ultimately is where He wants me to go.
Hold fast your vision, focusing on the path that leads you there. Be steadfast regardless of the difficulties, persevere regardless of the naysayers, walk on regardless of the heartache.
Ask yourself this question: What is your vision that you will not compromise or surrender?
