I never thought I would end up here
Now, I've said that to myself a few times in my life, but usually, it's said as a metaphor. In this case it's both figurative and literal.
I honestly never thought I would end up living in Ohio, and most definitely not in the middle of Amish Country. I mean, this was the place my parents brought my sister and I on day trips – against our will, I might add.
We'd head down 77 in the heat of summer to shop for Trail bologna and baskets. We'd spend what seemed like hours looking at furniture, baked goods, and handy crafts. The only redeeming factor about these trips was the unlimited cheese samples over which this little chubby sixth grader could graze.
It's true. I never pictured myself here, but here I am. Matt Beres – the city boy – living the country life. I'll tell ya, sometimes it seems like the makings of a reality show.
My journey after college – to Sydney, Australia – then back to Ohio was an interesting one. There were times where I was determined never to come back to Ohio, and there were times where it didn't seem to matter. But my parents always reminded me to walk through every open door. So, that's what I did. I walked through an open door that led me down under, and then walked through another open door to move back to Ohio and work at NewPointe Community Church in Dover, Ohio.
You see, we can all have big plans for how our life will unfold, but it doesn't always work out the way we envision it in our heads. In fact, it rarely does. Life's circumstances change even the best thought-out plans.
You may have pictured yourself having the perfect "American Dream" life with a cute bungalow, 2.5 kids, a mini-van, a white picket fence, and an American Flag fluttering in your front yard. But, most likely somewhere, sometime along the way, the dreams and plans you had spinning around in your head didn't turn out exactly as you planned. Sometimes they even look drastically different. And sometimes life can leave you feeling as though a bomb went off – leaving you surrounded by rubble saying, "I never thought I would end up here."
I'm sure there are snapshots of your life where you can say, "I never thought I would end up here." Maybe there's a dream you had in your heart that never came to fruition. Maybe there's an opportunity you feel like you missed. Or maybe you are just frustrated with the state of your personal union. No matter what the case, you have the opportunity to choose.
The great thing about life is we are all given choices every day – and those choices add up to our destiny. The choice that you have to make looks different than the choice I have to make. For you, a big choice could be confronting someone who hurt you or let you down. Maybe a step for you to take is quit the job you've been complaining about for three years. A big choice you may need to make is go to counseling. Or maybe for you, the choice you need to make is to pull off your covers, put two feet on the ground, and keep moving. The choice is yours.
There are times in your past and no doubt there will be times in your future where you say to yourself, "I never thought I would end up here." The question isn't when will it come – because most likely it will. The real question at hand is what are you going to do when that does happen.
How about this? Throw off those covers, put two feet on the ground, and keep moving.