Goals and God's Guidance
There were four of us all fighting to gain control of the soccer ball falling towards us from above. I quickly moved my leg to knock the ball forward towards the net but instead took the impact of another players mighty kick directly to my ankle. I crumpled to the ground with a shooting pain in my foot. The pain was quite intense and just hoped I hadn’t broken it. I laid there for a few moments as play went on and the ball moved down field. I knew this would be the end of the game for me so I hobbled off the field while assuring my friends I was playing with that I was fine and just needed to sit out for a bit.
I had no idea this would give me a brand new insight and direction in my life.
A day later I was unable to put any weight on my ankle. It was excruciating to even move it. I am grateful I had a few friends close by that were able to help me out. Bring me some food, a set of crutches and make some arrangements for me as I was confined to my motorhome just south of Calgary, Alberta.
The good news was I didn’t break my ankle. Just a fantastic bruise that made it swell up like a balloon. It took about ten days for me to be able to put any weight on it again. Even then I was extra cautious as I didn’t want to resume activity too soon and re-injure myself.
I’m back to 100% now and grateful it was nothing serious in terms of an injury. It was however quite serious in its offering to re-examine my life plans and listen for guidance.
You see, I have been wanting to go on a road trip across the USA since 2016. Most people take a year off before attending College or University to travel and explore the world. When I was eighteen, I went right into film school and before I had even finished my film degree I booked the role of Ty Borden on CBC’s Heartland. While I have done lots of travel in my life, more than I ever expected, I had never taken the road trip that I always dreamed of.
Years later I finally had the resources, time and opportunity to make this dream a reality. I was going to take an entire year to travel across the Canada and the USA. Recording podcasts, meeting new people and seeing new sights was so inspiring and exciting for me to think about. Now was the time and I was going to make it happen.
Then I hurt my ankle playing soccer. A simply injury that most would just write off as an accident that would just temporarily delay their plans. That was what I thought until I took the time to really be honest with myself. Might there be something more to this than I initially thought?
It’s a very fine line between overthinking a situation and listening for the those so called whispers in the wind.
My litmus test is always to ask myself which is harder to do? Push through the doubts and uncertainty by unlocking a new level of faith and courage OR wrestle with my attachments and expectations to return to a place of peace and surrender with God’s plan.
In this case I could very clearly feel my attachments and expectations were rearing their ugly heads. So I sat and prayed, meditated and listened.
It was from this silent space I recognized something I hadn’t seen before. I was now aware of my desire to make this a journey with others. I’m sure many of you have heard the age old wisdom of the African Proverb, "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together"
I’ve decided to now spend my winter in Alberta while I plan and budget for a team effort journey across Canada and the USA.
Lessons Learned
There is a real juicy balance between having goals and surrendering to God’s plan. It can feel sometimes like I’ve failed when I realize things aren’t going to work out the way I intended. Then I take a breath and try another perspective.
“What if I needed to have these goals to get me to this point?”
“What if this was actually a success for God’s plan to make itself known to me?”
“What would my life be like if I simply used my goals as enhancements for God’s guidance?”
These were all new perspectives I played with from my previous insights and practice with asking more beautiful questions.
This is a new way of having goals and objectives that puts the so called “prize” not on the accomplishment of the goal directly but instead on the deepening of my relationship to God and the guidance I am receiving.
Will I also have situations that are extremely difficult and require great courage? Absolutely. Will I need to be disciplined and diligent with my time and resources? Of course. This perspective I am sharing with you is not an excuse to avoid the difficult circumstances or aspirations one has in life. It is simply a reframe of the reason why we do what we do.
I’ve often had goals that are to fulfill an unconscious need to feel loved and valued in this world. Then when I achieved those goals I was left feeling empty and frustrated that all that work had left me empty handed and feeling cheated.
When I refocus my intentions and align my goals with moving closer to God then the soil in which I plant my seeds of desire will have the exact nutrients they need to grow and become what they are meant to be. And I will be ready and willing to accept the lessons and blessings life is waiting to pour into me.
How might your goals and desires look if the ultimate desire was to move closer to God through the journey of achieving them?
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It's so interesting how life sometimes stops us in our tracks 👣 so God can redirect us according to a higher plan. 🙏 Pain is certainly a great leveller. The past few months have seen me buffeted by the flow of God's original plan for my life. I am just reemerging after a 5 month struggle with physical pain - which, I believe, was happening 'for' me. In the midst of this I found that much of what I had envisioned in the past was no longer a high priority- the path had now taken a new direction- and I was content to allow it to unfold according to God's timing rather than mine.
I am so glad to hear that you are now fully recovered from your injury, and that this enforced resting time has given you the space to adjust your future goals, whilst still following your heart.
In my experience, it is often what happens as a result of what appears to us to be a setback, that launches us forward into an even better plan. Always remembering that God is working all things together for our greatest good - and relaxing into that fact.
Many blessings 🙌 🙏 ✨️
Interesting question! Having been raised a PK, my beliefs and guidance have never been in question. I seek and accept God's guidance without doubt in my daily life, but perhaps I take that guidance for granted when it comes to long-term and larger goals. Something I need to explore further! Thanks, Graham for your insight and for sharing your experiences!