Decisions Determine Destiny-The Power of Vision
I like having a short "power statement" as a daily trigger to remember and focus my goals and ambitions. Statements like "just do it" and "decisions determine destiny" and others can have a strong impact on us if we allow them to become more than superficial statements.
Sometimes it can be the push to get out of bed and do things you may not necessarily feel like doing. Until certain things become habits there will be a struggle to implement them and it is a battle you have to engage every day until you have mastered them.
There is a good spread in the ages of my kids. I chose to take them backpacking at some point in our life before they were ever born. It was 1972 when I decided that I would take my future family on a wilderness adventure. We did not go until 2004. Sounds crazy, doesn't it. How could I decide 32 years ahead of an event that by appearance sake I would not have much control over? Sometimes I have wondered why I wasn't more committed to other processes. This process has to do with vision and how it affects our destiny.
How do we see ourselves in the future?
How and why do we make some decisions that are so clear to us that we can remain committed even when we don't write them down? Why do they never seem to leave us? Part of the reason I am writing this is that my kids don't even know why we went on that trip other than "dad is crazy".
Success is our journey of pursuits that we have chosen. I chose to focus on my family. The panorama of opportunity is vast and gives mankind a variety that is as individual as we are. There are collective endeavors that provide freedom for our pursuits. If we fail to protect them, we may find ourselves without them.
The details of the decision were those of a teenager, 16 years old. I loved backpacking and spent many weeks during the summers in Idaho in the wilderness areas. The outdoors and clear starry nights caused increased awareness and wonderment for creation. The decision though was made when I passed a family on the trail and talked to them for a few minutes. For whatever reason, I resolved right then and there that I would someday take my family on a backpacking trip in the Sawtooth mountains of Idaho. I did a trial run in 1989 to the Sawtooths with my three oldest kids when they were 10, 8 and 6. They still remember something of that trip.
The logistics of a wilderness trip for a family of 10 with a business to run, college, missions, marriages, and the likes coming up would make it unlikely. With a 25-year-old down to a 6-year-old, all would need to be able to carry a pack and walk a considerable distance. The fact is the decision had been made and from time to time I would ask myself; when am I going to take this trip? The fact that I was aware in my subconscious mind of what I wanted to do made it possible to consider things that my conscious abilities would not be able to calculate. One day the switch flipped and said it is time to go.
I started talking about it with the kids and trying to get them excited. It wasn't going to happen. No way dad they would say. I put the dates on the calendar and I just kept talking. I went about and buying backpacks, shoes, food and all of the things we would need to make it happen. It happened and became a memory and unifying experience we can all share and remember together.
It didn't happen exactly the way I planned but it happened. I saw the opportunity at the only time we could do it because it was fixed in my mind as something I had to do. Even though it was just an event in the journey of life that on the surface might not mean much, it is an example to me as to how small things become great.
Sometimes it can be the push to get out of bed and do things you may not necessarily feel like doing. Until certain things become habits there will be a struggle to implement them and it is a battle you have to engage every day until you have mastered them.
There is a good spread in the ages of my kids. I chose to take them backpacking at some point in our life before they were ever born. It was 1972 when I decided that I would take my future family on a wilderness adventure. We did not go until 2004. Sounds crazy, doesn't it. How could I decide 32 years ahead of an event that by appearance sake I would not have much control over? Sometimes I have wondered why I wasn't more committed to other processes. This process has to do with vision and how it affects our destiny.
How do we see ourselves in the future?
How and why do we make some decisions that are so clear to us that we can remain committed even when we don't write them down? Why do they never seem to leave us? Part of the reason I am writing this is that my kids don't even know why we went on that trip other than "dad is crazy".
Success is our journey of pursuits that we have chosen. I chose to focus on my family. The panorama of opportunity is vast and gives mankind a variety that is as individual as we are. There are collective endeavors that provide freedom for our pursuits. If we fail to protect them, we may find ourselves without them.
The details of the decision were those of a teenager, 16 years old. I loved backpacking and spent many weeks during the summers in Idaho in the wilderness areas. The outdoors and clear starry nights caused increased awareness and wonderment for creation. The decision though was made when I passed a family on the trail and talked to them for a few minutes. For whatever reason, I resolved right then and there that I would someday take my family on a backpacking trip in the Sawtooth mountains of Idaho. I did a trial run in 1989 to the Sawtooths with my three oldest kids when they were 10, 8 and 6. They still remember something of that trip.
The logistics of a wilderness trip for a family of 10 with a business to run, college, missions, marriages, and the likes coming up would make it unlikely. With a 25-year-old down to a 6-year-old, all would need to be able to carry a pack and walk a considerable distance. The fact is the decision had been made and from time to time I would ask myself; when am I going to take this trip? The fact that I was aware in my subconscious mind of what I wanted to do made it possible to consider things that my conscious abilities would not be able to calculate. One day the switch flipped and said it is time to go.
I started talking about it with the kids and trying to get them excited. It wasn't going to happen. No way dad they would say. I put the dates on the calendar and I just kept talking. I went about and buying backpacks, shoes, food and all of the things we would need to make it happen. It happened and became a memory and unifying experience we can all share and remember together.
It didn't happen exactly the way I planned but it happened. I saw the opportunity at the only time we could do it because it was fixed in my mind as something I had to do. Even though it was just an event in the journey of life that on the surface might not mean much, it is an example to me as to how small things become great.
We recognize the opportunity when we have prepared to receive and pursue it. Such has been the case for me in marriage, having a family, a business and other pursuits in life. I made determinations when I was a teenager that have combined together as events that have determined my destiny. So too it is for each one of us. Have you made those decisions that will determine your destiny and set your children on theirs? I think that earth life is a microcosm to show us something of God's purposes. We are his children. We are on a journey. How will it contribute to our eternal destiny?
Comments
Post a Comment