The Gift of Uncertainty

I can plan all I want, strategize all I want, write all the checklists and to-do lists, but I still won't really know what will happen and how things will turn out. My former boss always said: there is no manual for the future. There are no guarantees. My highly-perfectionistic self freaks out sometimes, but I'm learning to embrace the uncertainty.

I remember a prayer session I had at one of my Easter retreats and it was a powerful reminder about how I was living my life. I asked the Lord if he could tell me what my life's purpose was and how my life would turn out, just as he knew His grand purpose in life - he lived to show us Love and redeem us. He smiled and said, "I could easily do that, but if I told you, I'd be robbing you of living your life."

I continue to be and do the best that I can, but I have learned to take more comfort in the gift of uncertainty. Living each day without knowing what tomorrow will bring allows me 1) to be grateful that I have another day, a chance to rediscover a little bit of myself, and a choice to do good to others, and 2) to trust and practice childlike faith in my God of Surprises who only wants better than the best.