Stone Paths.

Earlier this week I told what is a pretty significant part of my story in a matter of seconds. Isn't it strange how time shaves major life events down into simple bits and pieces of common conversation? While I was talking, in my mind I was thinking about how funny life can be. Or maybe it's just my life that's funny. You know, we shouldn't mistake events that are ultimately recounted in a couple of sentences as being insignificant or determine that what we define as "the past" is just time wasted. Honestly there are times when I get really hung up in that twisted line of thinking. It's a trap that completely defeats the whole point of the story. I don't believe that the point of the stories that shape our lives is for us to become good storytellers. Sure, the stories that we share verbally in Cliffs Notes format have purpose and depending upon the version they are comedic, tragic, or simply a great mystery in a "was I on drugs or something?" kind of way. But. The point of these stories is for us to become the people we were created to be and to live the lives that we were put on this earth to live. I'm a visual learner and the visual image that comes to my mind when I think about this is a stone path. Think Thomas Kinkade original cottage in the woods type scene. There's a nice little walkway with stones placed in a way that isn't perfectly uniform leading up to the front door. The stones are a little asymmetrical. Some are pretty and smooth while some have really jagged edges. Each stone has a purpose in that it directs us to where we're going and it keeps us out of the muddy muck along the way. If just one stone is missing, it creates a large gap that slows us down or keeps us from getting where we want to go. Sometimes we have to take really big steps between each stone while there are others that almost touch each other. Each stone represents an event or chapter in our story. High school, college, jobs, relationships, deaths of loved ones, moves, etc. Just as multiple stones are required to make a path, multiple events are required to make a life. The trick is to not get stuck on or lament over the existence of one of the stones. As long as we continue to wake up and walk each morning, we still have work to do and much to anticipate. That's a good thing. Keep walking. There's another stone just ahead.