Joan Reynolds

Real Faith, Real Life & Real Joy

Someone Else’s Life?

July25

Just had my morning coffee call with my Mom, and the subject  today was her college alma mater.  She was wishing I had gone there, because my life might have been so different. I did attend college, albeit a Midwestern state university rather than a ‘seven sisters’ or other New England college. I really didn’t have a clue what I wanted to study, other than people, and had I known then what I know now I might have pursued psychotherapy.  Back in 1964 the choices were less obvious,  many men went to college just to avoid the draft/Vietnam and I found the whole thing a bit of a directionless limbo, so I left after two years to get on with my life.

This morning, perhaps because of my focus recently on re-writing my mental tapes, I asked her how she thought my life would have been different. It amounted to the fact that she thought it would have been less of a struggle for me. How that would have happened she wasn’t sure, but perhaps I would have married differently, had different friends and acquaintances, and perhaps lived a more charmed life with more of the extras (like amazing vacation destinations, parties, and social events).

My life hasn’t been chock full of those things, for sure.  Would I trade it for a life of more luxury? Never! My life has evolved exactly as it should have and I have few, if any, regrets. All of the struggles have born the best fruit and I probably never would have met the people who have crossed my path had I lived life on a different plain. I probably would still have met fascinating people, but I think I have made a difference in those lives I have touched, as they have made in mine.

I need to remember to cherish the paths my sons’ lives take, enjoying with them the outcome of their struggles,  never denying that they are on the course that God has set out for them. While for some of us, having more money has probably given us more options and opportunities in life, for others it would probably just have been harder to make choices. I am someone who has the most difficult time choosing an entree when the  menu looms large in front of me. Invite me for dinner at your home, however, and I will be thrilled with whatever you serve!  The road I have taken has included people I might never have met in that charmed life I never lived, but  knowing them has made all the difference.

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