A Visit to Where I Didn’t Go

Have you ever checked out something you chose not to do in life? Doing so can be meaningful.

When I was eighteen, I seriously considered applying to the United States Coast Guard Academy to pursue a career as an officer. Almost a lifetime later when I was on a trip nearby the place, I had to visit and check it out. I wanted closure as to why I never went there. wasn’t supposed to be allowed on campus, but after hearing my story, the guard kindly got permission to let me in.

Between what I saw and learned in the museum, by observing the cadets, and by learning what was required, I realized that I would’ve had to been okay with jumping into ice-cold ocean water. And I would’ve become debilitatingly seasick on stormy seas. And I would’ve agonized through four years of studying technical matters for which I have no love. And I would’ve had a wrestling in my soul–because all together I was too independent, too interested in literature, writing, and liberal arts, then later I was too interested in Bible, theology, missiology, and God’s calling to kingdom ministry. Plus I probably didn’t have what it would have taken to be a helicopter pilot, their most competitive area. And enough of the above things would also have applied to my not doing Navy ROTC for college or Officer Candidate School after I graduated.

Why am I writing all this? Because I felt so grateful that I finally got full closure on why I didn’t take that path. I will always respect the U.S. Coast Guard, but I now feel completely sure with a clarity like never before that I have lived the life God created me to live. It’s a harmonious life symphony of my freewill choices guided by God’s sovereignty.

So I encourage you to consider the same kind of thing in your own life, even if you did things you came to regret. Do you ever wonder if you made the right choices, did the right things, or pursued the right thing? Or if you didn’t, did God guide you back to a right path?

Go to the place you need to go. See the person you need to see. Settle in your heart anything unsettled. When you do, you may experience a similar kind of confidence and peace that may re-energize your life. Or it may give you the impetus to get up and do something you’ve never done before.

How might this experience be lived out in your life?
Let me know!

Photo credit: US Coast Guard Academy