Our Will - Our Gift, From Someone Who Knows Better

As a single woman living in the 21st Century, I and my counterparts are faced with a myriad of choices on a daily basis. What will I do today? Where will I eat this evening? What movie shall I watch? What groups will I be involved with? Who will I spend time with? And the list goes on and on. There are so many choices! Often when we become accustomed to having so many options to choose from, we get the misguided notion that our will is supreme. I can do what I want to do, because that’s what I want. In the age of iPhones, iPads, iChat and everything "I," we forget where the ability to choose comes from.
Our ability to choose or our free will is a God given gift (period). In accepting this fact with love and humility, it is when we are truly empowered to experience heights we never imagined for ourselves. This concept often confuses many women. They reason (especially single women) that if they are the ones they depend on for their own economic support, then they are the determiners of what happens in their lives. And while I believe, that we are the sum of our choices, it’s only when we are out of step with our maker’s will for our lives that the waters become muddy.
Living a life that’s filled with purpose has at its core, the willingness to acknowledge the will of our maker above our own. Many women live lives that have selfish tendencies, because they want to do what “feels” right for them. I submit myself as an example to illustrate this point. Divorced since 1998, my purpose in life was my intent to remarry. I wanted to fall in love with the “right” man and live in romantic bliss. And although nothing is wrong with wanting to find the person you feel you’re meant to be with, I made it my sole focus in every aspect of my life. Memberships to Match.com and Yahoo Personals were my passions. Checking my email every 15 minutes, I became addicted to MY pursuit. I spent countless hours reading profiles & responding to emails…while ignoring friendships; avoiding social outings because I didn’t want to be the odd one out and neglecting opportunities that were presented to me where I could be of service to other people (either ones I knew personally or members in my community).
The ability to choose is a powerful, POWERFUL gift. It can be the force behind selfish endeavors or it can be a catalyst to bring about a life of purpose and service to others. Many I think (myself included) at times underestimate its power and the magnitude it can have in an individual’s life.
Consider what a life without will or choice would mean – the thought is very sobering. Were it not for choice, we’d be sentenced to a life of mediocrity and conforming to everything dictated to us by God, our maker. We would be obedient; would never break the rules; would always comply; would look and act like everyone else, because individual will wouldn’t exist. We in essence, would be robots, with no souls and nothing that distinguished us from one another.
Thank God we are given the gift of free will and choice and by recognizing our place in this world, we are then empowered to make great choices that will serve to show others the love we are meant to know as a human race!
Cathy Robinson
www.yoursinglepurpose.com
www.facebook.com/yoursinglepurpose