noticing

you know when you buy a new car? you start seeing that car everywhere. it seems like everyone has it or you never knew how popular it was until yours came along. or when you get a new haircut, you start noticing how many people have that haircut? maybe i'm the only self-absorbed one, but i notice this is the case for most things in my life. right now i am noticing everything army. i've flown a decent amount and never once sat with army guys until last week - two flights, both with army boys. and that's just one example. it's everywhere i go.

i know that i'm only 22, but already i look at my life and think about how many different paths i could have taken by now. how many different places i could be now - literally, relationally, etc. it's crazy how certain choices can change practically everything, but we can never go back and know where that path would have taken us. there are a lot of paths i've said no to, confidently walking in the way the Lord has for me. and obviously there are paths i've said yes to as well, but i still feel like i don't know where i'm going. i know Who i'm following and i know what to say no to, but where is this path going?

as i've been thinking about this i felt like the Lord reminded me this is actually a good thing. i'm being a sheep! ("i just wanna be a sheep, baa, baa" - tell me i'm not the only one who loved this song as a kid?!) sheep follow their shepherd with the utmost trust (a daily choice i'm hopefully growing in) and He leads them where they're supposed to go. and who better to follow for my destiny than my Creator who mapped the whole thing out? Isaiah 30:21 says, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

when i typed 'shepherd' it reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of "friends," where rachel has a little cooking incident ... totally something i would do ...
Ross: Beef in a dessert? No, no, no. There is no way.
Joey: I know. And only one layer of jam? What is up with that?
(Ross flips through the pages)
Ross: Oh, my God. The pages are stuck together.
Joey: Chandler!
Ross: Oh, my God. She made half an English trifle and ... half a shepherd's pie!