Roads Worth Traveling

Being on the 'One entry per month' plan, here goes August. I am now preparing to head back to the WU in a little under a week, and in a bit of a reflective mood. The upcoming move back to school forces me to reconsider the events of the summer. As always, my life seems significantly different from the beginning of the summer. I suppose that the college years often have this effect on people's lives. There is so much happening, so many decisions being made, so many directions being chosen. Our lives receive their initial direction from these years, and the choices we make now will certainly pave the way for the rest of our lives. I am beginning to see this phase of my life as a time of road building. The roads that I am paving are not easily constructed, but it is certainly easier now than at any other point in my life. My goal is to lay paths that I will not have to abandon later in life. I want all that I do now to contribute as a good beginning to the direction that my life takes. The paths that I am laying must be in the right direction (general direction), and they must of good quality. These two priniciples apply to every aspect of my life. My relationships, my academic work, my 'blue collar' work, and my future plans all should proceed in light of this realization.
Another important point, I should not fail to mention that in all I do, my goals stem from what I feel that I being called to do by God. For those of you who arent Christians, it probably seems arrogant to say that I would expect a god, in fact, The God, to direct my life. However, as I continue to learn and lay roads, I am encouraged by how my trust in the Christian God has been rewarded by a path more wisely chosen than any I could have arrived at. I would be lying if I concluded that my immediate happiness has always been acquired by following after God. Many times, if not most, I am challenged to the point of despair when I submit to following after a Will that is not my own. Yet, I have consistenly found there is light at the end of the paths that are required of me. Most of the difficulties I have encountered have yielded a measure fruit beyond anything I could have anticipated. There are some things that I have yet to see come to fruition, but here I feel I am assured in trusting an Engineer beyond my capacity.
Ok, now I'm pulling it all together, so that you can stop reading and start posting that comment that you are dying to get started on.
Well, I think the reflective mood that I mentioned at the outset has been rewarding, but I am even more convinced that the summer has been a significant change. Good. I needed a change. In any case, school is about to start, I have no clue what this semseter will bring, but I'm excited. I like knowing what I am going to do about not knowing what I am going to do. Here's the game plan: I am going to continue to lay roads that will hopefully prove solid and in the right general direction, and I am going to trust that an ultimately wise Dept. of Transportation has some incredible plans for the roads ahead. Not necessarily a superhighway, but at least a highly useful dirt path.