Following In His Path

So yesterday I didn’t exactly ask the Lord for a word for the year 2008. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m not overly brave and I am subject to both flights of fancy and great leaps of misinterpretation.

But I did go ahead and choose a word that I thought might help me focus on the little (and big) ways God is involved in my life on a daily basis. I mean, I don’t want to miss Him in action, when I’m certain that He’s here with me every day, directing my paths according to His purposes for me.

The word I’ve chosen is Serendipity. I prayed and told the Lord that I wanted to see every event, every chance meeting with another person, and even every difficult circumstance as if He were right there with me in the middle of it—because, of course, He is. All I need to do is keep my eyes open and pay attention.

Right before Christmas, I did something awfully impulsive. I signed up for a full-time semester at a local university, as a psych major. Classes were scheduled to start tonight, and would have been intensive and compressed into 8-week sessions, rather than the typical 16-weeks. In fact, before the first session, I would have needed to read a couple hundred pages of text and to have written four 1000-word essays.

I realized I’d bitten off more than I could chew, and that I’d probably done it in reaction to my current frustration trying to break into publishing fiction. By Christmas I’d decided to drop the classes, but the business office wasn’t open until today.

Doug went with me because, man, those books were heavy! Plus, to drop classes and return my books I had to visit three different far-flung buildings, walking in the freakish cold on icy sidewalks.

Some people don’t look down when they walk, and they say to develop optimum balance it’s better to look straight ahead. But that’s the thing: My balance was negatively affected when I had brain surgery eight years ago and has never been the same since. Yeah, yeah. I know the balance nerve on one side of your head will theoretically compensate for the severed nerve on the other side, but I’m just sayin’, theories don’t always pan out.

So we’re walking along, our collective teeth chattering in time to our shoes crunching the ice, when I—the one who’s looking down—say, “What IS all this?”

Doug peers at the sidewalk, small stretches of which are cleared, and says, “It looks like…”

“But it CAN’T be,” I say. “There so MUCH of it. How many animals would it take to produce that volume of—”

“Sh….eesh,” he says.

“Um…ya think?” I say. “Why can’t they REMOVE it? It would be bad enough to slip on the ice, but I’d hate to have to sue for slipping on ice-encrusted, um…you know.”

That’s right. Thousands of the…items…were enshrouded in transparent ice, like caterpillars unfortunately never destined to become butterflies.

Doug danced something of an Irish jig in a nearly futile attempt to avoid…stuff. I—who had managed to leave the house in shoes with lots of openings and NO SOCKS—begged God that a combination of my iffy eyesight and my challenged balance would somehow see me through.

That’s when the truth hit me, with as strong a sense of serendipity as I’ve ever known. Going to school full-time right now would be a s——y path for my future. Literally.

Balance is overrated. Looking down while I’m strolling along the path of life? It works for me.

Posted by Katy on 01/02/08 at 08:57 PM

Fallible Comments...

Amen, sister. :-)
Posted by Suzan Robertson on 01/02/08 at 11:22 PM
LOL - Katy, do NOT give up on your writing career, no matter how long and rocky the road to publishing. God has given you such a gift with words, and you have blessed me for yet another year. Happy New Year!
Posted by Carrie K. on 01/03/08 at 12:15 AM
laughing with you...no brain surgery here, but I tend to look down when I walk...always have.

I love the word serendipity. God in the unexpected creating the vision for actually finding God every where, including along poopy places in life!
Posted by tina on 01/03/08 at 05:38 PM
Happy New Year, from this lurker!

I love the word serendipity. I lived on the Isle of Serendip for three years, so the word has had special meaning for me since then. I also like how you have interpreted it for yourself. What a great message.

I look forward to reading more of what you write - you've been bookmarked on my computer for about 2 or 3 years now. I've just been a bad blog reader for awhile. Best to you!
Posted by anne on 01/03/08 at 07:29 PM
the last time i was walking along the river at the Plaza there in KC, there were geese everywhere leaving all kinds of treats on the sidewalks. it was a challenge to avoid them.

serendipity is a quirky sounding word, but i love your application - God being in every encounter - that is an excellent reminder of the reality that nothing is really chance after all. and i too don't want to miss Him in action!
Posted by joshua on 01/04/08 at 05:13 AM
I'm so sad that you decided to drop your classes; you seemed really excited about it when you enrolled... We'll have to chat more about this later. The "psych/counseling" major in me thinks there is something more. Hmmm... Love you.
Posted by Bridget on 01/05/08 at 10:16 PM
Suzan--I appreciate the encouragement!

Carrie K--That comment made me tear up. I'm not kidding.

Tina--GREAT word for the year, don't you think? So far, I've had serendipitous events happen several times this year, that I've NOTICED. It's all about keeping your eyes open!! (Lucky for me, no more poopy paths!)

Anne--Thank you so much for delurking! I've got to say I have NO IDEA where the Isle of Serendip is, but tonight I am googling until I find it. I enjoyed visiting your site, too.

Joshua--Yeah. Doug said he thought it was geese poop. But we have a huge pond next to our property, which attracts tons of Canadian geese, and I've NEVER seen any "evidence" like this left behind after their visits. NOTHING, not even geese treats, is an accident! ;)

Bridgie--I was excited. That's my problem. I get very excitied quite easily. Then I behave impulsively. Then I start questioning what I've done and whether it's consistent with other goals which remain very important to me. It's a quandary, I tell youl. And advancing age makes it all the more important to choose carefully how I will spend my time. We WILL talk more, when we get the chance....Soon, I hope!
Posted by Katy on 01/10/08 at 10:58 PM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Following In His Path So yesterday I didn’t exactly ask the Lord for a word for the year 2008. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m not overly brave and I am subject to both flights of fancy and great leaps of misinterpretation. But I did go ahead and choose a word that I thought might help me focus on the little (and big) ways God is involved in my life on a daily basis. I mean, I don’t want to miss Him in action, when I’m certain that He’s here with me every day, directing my paths according to His purposes for me. The word I’ve chosen is Serendipity. I prayed and told the Lord that I wanted to see every event, every chance meeting with another person, and even every difficult circumstance as if He were right there with me in the middle of it—because, of course, He is. All I need to do is keep my eyes open and pay attention. Right before Christmas, I did something awfully impulsive. I signed up for a full-time semester at a local university, as a psych major. Classes were scheduled to start tonight, and would have been intensive and compressed into 8-week sessions, rather than the typical 16-weeks. In fact, before the first session, I would have needed to read a couple hundred pages of text and to have written four 1000-word essays. I realized I’d bitten off more than I could chew, and that I’d probably done it in reaction to my current frustration trying to break into publishing fiction. By Christmas I’d decided to drop the classes, but the business office wasn’t open until today. Doug went with me because, man, those books were heavy! Plus, to drop classes and return my books I had to visit three different far-flung buildings, walking in the freakish cold on icy sidewalks. Some people don’t look down when they walk, and they say to develop optimum balance it’s better to look straight ahead. But that’s the thing: My balance was negatively affected when I had brain surgery eight years ago and has never been the same since. Yeah, yeah. I know the balance nerve on one side of your head will theoretically compensate for the severed nerve on the other side, but I’m just sayin’, theories don’t always pan out. So we’re walking along, our collective teeth chattering in time to our shoes crunching the ice, when I—the one who’s looking down—say, “What IS all this?” Doug peers at the sidewalk, small stretches of which are cleared, and says, “It looks like…” “But it CAN’T be,” I say. “There so MUCH of it. How many animals would it take to produce that volume of—” “Sh….eesh,” he says. “Um…ya think?” I say. “Why can’t they REMOVE it? It would be bad enough to slip on the ice, but I’d hate to have to sue for slipping on ice-encrusted, um…you know.” That’s right. Thousands of the…items…were enshrouded in transparent ice, like caterpillars unfortunately never destined to become butterflies. Doug danced something of an Irish jig in a nearly futile attempt to avoid…stuff. I—who had managed to leave the house in shoes with lots of openings and NO SOCKS—begged God that a combination of my iffy eyesight and my challenged balance would somehow see me through. That’s when the truth hit me, with as strong a sense of serendipity as I’ve ever known. Going to school full-time right now would be a s——y path for my future. Literally. Balance is overrated. Looking down while I’m strolling along the path of life? It works for me. Posted by Katy on 01/02/08 at 08:57 PM Fallible Comments... Amen, sister. :-) Posted by Suzan Robertson on 01/02/08 at 11:22 PM LOL - Katy, do NOT give up on your writing career, no matter how long and rocky the road to publishing. God has given you such a gift with words, and you have blessed me for yet another year. Happy New Year! Posted by Carrie K. on 01/03/08 at 12:15 AM laughing with you...no brain surgery here, but I tend to look down when I walk...always have. I love the word serendipity. God in the unexpected creating the vision for actually finding God every where, including along poopy places in life! Posted by tina on 01/03/08 at 05:38 PM Happy New Year, from this lurker! I love the word serendipity. I lived on the Isle of Serendip for three years, so the word has had special meaning for me since then. I also like how you have interpreted it for yourself. What a great message. I look forward to reading more of what you write - you've been bookmarked on my computer for about 2 or 3 years now. I've just been a bad blog reader for awhile. Best to you! Posted by anne on 01/03/08 at 07:29 PM the last time i was walking along the river at the Plaza there in KC, there were geese everywhere leaving all kinds of treats on the sidewalks. it was a challenge to avoid them. serendipity is a quirky sounding word, but i love your application - God being in every encounter - that is an excellent reminder of the reality that nothing is really chance after all. and i too don't want to miss Him in action! Posted by joshua on 01/04/08 at 05:13 AM I'm so sad that you decided to drop your classes; you seemed really excited about it when you enrolled... We'll have to chat more about this later. The "psych/counseling" major in me thinks there is something more. Hmmm... Love you. Posted by Bridget on 01/05/08 at 10:16 PM Suzan--I appreciate the encouragement! Carrie K--That comment made me tear up. I'm not kidding. Tina--GREAT word for the year, don't you think? So far, I've had serendipitous events happen several times this year, that I've NOTICED. It's all about keeping your eyes open!! (Lucky for me, no more poopy paths!) Anne--Thank you so much for delurking! I've got to say I have NO IDEA where the Isle of Serendip is, but tonight I am googling until I find it. I enjoyed visiting your site, too. Joshua--Yeah. Doug said he thought it was geese poop. But we have a huge pond next to our property, which attracts tons of Canadian geese, and I've NEVER seen any "evidence" like this left behind after their visits. NOTHING, not even geese treats, is an accident! ;) Bridgie--I was excited. That's my problem. I get very excitied quite easily. Then I behave impulsively. Then I start questioning what I've done and whether it's consistent with other goals which remain very important to me. It's a quandary, I tell youl. And advancing age makes it all the more important to choose carefully how I will spend my time. We WILL talk more, when we get the chance....Soon, I hope! Posted by Katy on 01/10/08 at 10:58 PM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: How To Know For Sure That You're Old Previous entry: Some Words I'd Rather Not Hear From The Lord << Back to main


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Personal blog of christianwriter & fallible momKaty McKenna Raymondin Kansas City, Missouri

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Following In His Path

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri