Between Two Points

Remember in math class when you had to determine the shortest distance between two points?

I can barely remember that either.

What I can remember from high school was that my main goal was to get ahead in life as soon as I could. I wanted to find the shortest distance between where I was and where I envisioned myself: In my big house with my fancy car with my hot wife and four kids, all before the age of 45!

At that point I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed so graduating early wasn't an option. However, I had a pretty concrete plan of what I would do after high school: I would go on a mission and have life-changing experiences, come back knowing exactly what I wanted to study, graduate in a quick four years, get married somewhere in the mix and live happily with my 9-5, super-duper-big-boy-bucks job!

Everything went according to plan... up until I went on my mission 😆. After battling with a faith crisis wondering "why am I here" and "is this even real?" (that's a whole other juicy story) and coming home not nearly as prepared as I thought I would be for life, I realized that my plans weren't playing out the way I'd hoped. But that's okay! I could still nail the college thing... at least that's what I had planned for.

Turns out college also wasn't anything I had planned for. I decided that I didn't want to go to the University of Utah where my brothers graduated, and I had no idea what I wanted to study. After seeking for some guidance, I felt like I should go to Utah State University instead with my super goofy cousin, Sean, which, however much I loved my cousin, was originally my very last choice when applying for universities.

In the meantime, I went to work for my friends dad in his steel shop for that semester. The guys were all rough around the edges, and I never got used to the smell of cigarettes, but it paid well enough for me to live on my own when I got to school.

This is where I'd get back on track! I'd find exactly what I want to study, find the girl of my dreams and nothing else would go wrong! That was the plan until I realized that, after switching majors three times, I still didn't know what I wanted to do and, after going on a bunch of dates, still hadn't found the right girl.

"Why is this taking so long?" I asked myself. It seemed like everyone around me knew exactly what they wanted to do with their lives and they were following their plans to a tee. I thought that if I was doing all the right things and following all the promptings that God would take through the fast pass to success!

Spencer J. Condie said this:

For most of us, in a McDonald’s society of fast foods, instant photo finishing, and one-hour dry cleaning [I would add Google and get rich quick culture], the desirable route is the straightest line between two points. But in the Lord’s plan for our spiritual growth, the quickest, most efficient solution to our problems might rob us of patience and faith.

Looking back, all of those times when things didn't go according to my original plan were lessons in patience and faith. I learned greater lessons during those times than I ever could have from the best professors or on-the-job training.

Four years later, my faith is stronger than ever, I've found what I want to study (after much trial and error), I've found the girl of my dreams (in a very unexpected place that I had not planned) and I have a lot more direction in my life (after feeling misdirected for the previous two years). I still don't have the fancy car, the big house, millions in assets or any kids. What I do have, however, is greater patience and faith. Patience for when things don't go according to my plan, and faith that whatever happens outside of my control, it's according to God's plan.

I might not get from point A to point B the quickest or the most "efficient", but that's not the point (no pun intended).

The point is becoming.

What are you going through right now that was unplanned? What are you learning and becoming because of it?