TODAY I CHOOSE MY DESTINY!

There is is saying that a man's destiny is predetermined by God. Others belive that a man's destiny is determined by his surroundings. I say that a man's destiny is His (or hers, for a woman)to choose.

It is not God Who chooses our every move as if we were puppets. He gave man free will to choose which direction we will take our lives. We are born with an inate ability to make our own decisions, good or bad and as a result of those decisions our lives take shape.

There are certain things that affect our lives that ARE beyond our control--laws of nature and the decisions others around us make--but it is not the things themselves that make our destiny, rather it is the way we respond to a situation that makes our destiny.

I was raised in a broken home in "the projects" where my mother raised three kids for several years on a seamstress's production paycheck. I had an absentee father and an absentee step-father. I was a screw-up during high school and after high school I couldn't even get into the Air Force due to an undiagnosed medical condition. I never attended college and by all that society tells us should be my fate, I should be in prison or stuck in an hourly job with no future. In fact, several of my friends from school have been a guest of the state.

But the conventional thought did not turn out to be true. Despite all my very real circumstances, I did NOT meet expectations for my life. I say this not to brag on my life, which in my mind has been pretty awesome, but to prove a point that my situation did not determine my outcome.

All it took was for me to be open to the opportunity and just one person to believe in me. Yes, I had one person to believe in me even when I didn't believe in myself. That was my sister and my best friend up until the day she died. Because of her belief and caring I was able to see the potential I had and the dreams I dreamed became more than just dreams.

A spark of hope is all we need in order to overcome our obstacles. We need not be bound by what society tells us we can or can't do. Our destiny is not restrained by our circumstances, rather our reaction to our circumstances is what controls our destiny. I refused to believe the naysayers who said I couldn't do it. No one has the right to choose your outcome but you! Today I choose MY DESTINY!