This pas weekend I spent in Oklahoma. More on that a little later, I bring that up to say that I had to do laundry for this trip. And since it was a little last minute I was rushing to get my laundry done. And whenever I am in a rush I tend to forget things, like the small notebook I keep in my back pocket. The washer didn't hurt it too much, though the dryer turned it into tinder. This notebook is where I write down my shopping list, directions, peoples names (so I don't forget), and my ideas for this blog. Because I washed and dried those ideas I had to come up with a new one. This is actually something I've been thinking for a while, and I tried to formulte and tease out the ideas a little more while I was mowing the yard. Let me know what you think after you're done reading.
My Mom and Dad are high school sweethearts. They're also the greatest parents ever. I wrote earlier that I was mowing the yard. I enjoy doing this, but it was getting dark and I really didn't want to finish the back. "I'll just do it tomorrow," I thought to myself. But fifteen minutes later I was done with it, just in time for the sun to retreat across the horizon. I blame my parents for this. Because of them I can't leave any job undone. Because of them I feel like I have to give my all to everything I do. "If you're gonna do something half-assed," Dad said once, "it's not worth doing at all." I say I blame them, but I'm really grateful for that. Because of that I have a job that I am good at, the people I work with respect me, and the people that see me work notice it. This isn't to make my self puffed up. I still have a long way to go, but I'm glad that my parents pushed me to do my best.
Mom and Dad are high school sweethearts. They both went to Oak Park High School in Kansas City. After graduation Dad went to the University of Missouri at Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) and Mom went to Warrensburg. I still remember childhood vacations going to these exotic locales. After graduating, they were married. Mom moved to Rolla with Dad while he got his Masters in Chemical Engineering (dude's super-smart). After that program, they ended up back in KC. Had a couple of kids, and now are doing their best to figure out life with the rest of us. Of course this is the brief version, if you want the longer and more accurate one you'll have to ask them.
I tell my parents story to bring up a point about myself. I always thought that I would emulate their example. Marry my high school sweetheart. That didn't work out. Then I figured I'd be married right out of college. Strike two. After two strikes I figured I was out and gave up trying to relive my parents lives. I am my own person. My path is my own, and it is going to look different that Chris and Lori Lancaster's. It's going to look different than my brother and sister-in-law's. And it's going to look different than yours. And I've only lately come to realize this. And come to realize that it is ok, and even good, for me to be seeking my own way. Because to try to go down someone else's would only make me miss out on the greatest good that I could experience by finding my own way.
When I talk about path, I mean that I believe that God has a plan for me. If he had a plan for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph then I'm sure he has a little something for me as well. By copying the plan that God has for someone else I'm essentially saying that I don't trust what He has for me. And that I am jealous of what that someone else has.
So what's the path God has for you? Are you on it, or are you more worried about following someone else.
"Unless you hate your mother and father..."
Luke
luketlancaster@gmail.com
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