Embrace the Unexpected

I think almost all of us know what it’s like to have our lives carefully planned, only to watch those plans—and sometimes everything else—fall apart before our eyes. Even when life goes mostly according to plan, there are usually at least a few things that don’t work out, forcing us to put “Plan B” into action.

The truth is that life rarely unfolds exactly as we expect, no matter how much time and energy we invest in planning for the future. Sometimes, life takes us in an entirely different direction. That can be frustrating. We want to make the plans, know they’ll work, and feel in control. And why shouldn’t we? After all, it’s our life.

But if you’ve lived long enough, you’ve probably looked back and realized that some of your decisions and plans weren’t the wisest choices. Therefore, perhaps life, even when it feels uncaring—or even cruel—isn’t working against us at all, instead, maybe it’s redirecting us. And although that redirection may turn our lives upside down for a while, it may ultimately place us on a path that suits us better, even if it feels frightening and uncertain at first.

Over the past ten years, my life has been turned upside down more than once. I was diagnosed with cancer, left an unhealthy church, recovered from a car accident, and went through a divorce. Just as I began recovering from one hardship, another seemed to follow. Some challenges were the consequences of choices I had made years earlier; others were simply bad luck and completely beyond my control.

Either way, I often felt shocked and powerless as I watched my life unravel, unable to fix what was happening. All I could do was try to remain calm and listen to my intuition as it guided me forward.

I’m in a much better place now, and as painful as those experiences were, they taught me several important lessons. First, very little is truly within our control, so exhausting ourselves trying to control everything is futile. Second, when we loosen our grip and allow our inner guidance to lead us, we may discover that life is taking us somewhere better.

I’m still working on releasing my need for control, which is difficult, especially because I’m a planner and tend to feel anxious when things are uncertain. But when I slow down, take life one day at a time, and allow things to unfold, I gain clarity. I’m better able to focus on the present, make thoughtful decisions, and follow my inner compass as it lays down a new path.

It takes patience—which has never come easily to me—and a willingness to live with uncertainty, which can be frightening. But the more I practice, the easier it becomes, and the more progress I see.

And, surprisingly, there’s something freeing about not knowing exactly what comes next. Now, instead of feeling as though I’m stumbling through the darkness, waiting for something terrible to happen, I feel as though I’m being gently guided toward the good life that's waiting ahead.

So the next time life throws a curve into your path, try not to see it as the end of the road. Think of it as a bend in the road... a shift that may be guiding you toward the better life that’s waiting for you and embrace it!

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