What If Wednesday

One day last week, while talking with my brother, the conversation turned to an “if/then” scenario. He was speaking about his circumstances and how if one detail had changed he would not have the life he does now. That sent my own wheels turning. What if… 

What if Peter and I had married while in college? How different would our family look? Where would we be? What would our lives be like? I have an overactive imagination, so playing this out is strictly for entertainment purposes. I have no regrets about our lives together or God’s timing in our relationship. We first dated during our freshman year at a Christian University. I imagine that if we had married at that time, we would have been married sophomores, at 19 years of age. At that time in our lives, we had very separate interests and directions in our lives, and we were both immature and stubborn about them – maybe we still are at times. I doubt Peter would have joined the military or switched to a missions major but would have stayed in the youth and family ministry track. We both would have struggled to find our place after graduation, probably settling for the first jobs we could find in the same location. Our family would likely have started earlier, with the possibility of having an almost 20-year-old instead of an almost teenager. We wouldn’t have traveled overseas, though we might have still done mission work (together instead of as singles). Maybe we’d even have more than two children. 

BUT God’s timing IS perfect. When I think about the what if, all I see (with the 20/20 hindsight vision) is that very likely we wouldn’t be content with our lives and as willing to work through life as a team if we’d married younger. We had to go through the bumps in the road, which eventually led us back to each other, in order to grow. We can waste time on the “shoulda, coulda, wouldas” or we can take joy in the journey and celebrate the moments as they come. The most extraordinary memories come from everyday moments. The best part of life is living abundantly.