A dear friend dies, a tragic car accident occurs, a promotion is received, marriage, children... these are all defining moments of life that most likely prompted some other defining moment of life for one reason... defining moments are triggers that lead to other defining moments.They are changes that occur in our lives, shifting us from one path onto another.
Defining moments in life are rarely our actions alone. They usually require actions outside of self. These actions can be decisions by others, acts of God, circumstances, recognition, and the list could go on, but the important point is this: they are all decisions involving you about you usually made outside of you. Ultimately, it is my belief that they are all acts of God for I believe He is in complete control. There are those who would disagree and present the issue of evil in the world as an example of why God can not be in control, but then I present the issue of defining moments as a counter example of why God is in control.
A good person trying to do good will not always make every decision that results in good. Does that mean he or she does not have "good" motives in their attempt to do good? How about situations where to do good requires a painful decision? To save the whole body, a limb must be amputated. The amputations will result in much pain, years of discomfort and a change in lifestyle, but in order to save a life - the ultimate good goal - a limb must die. God is very much the same way. He sees the ultimate good and has to allow actions that we deem bad to happen, and sometimes, they must happen to us. How haughty of us to judge God by what is taking place in our life when there is a whole world out there hanging in the balance. Do we really think we are that important that the events of our life merit attention over the billions of other people or the starts in the sky or the energy in the universe? These are our perceptions, and they are rooted in who we are. This issue of perceptions is one that I would like to address in more detail.
We humans perceive everything through our own selfish senses, and today, we perceive more through our eyes than any other sense. This has occurred as a direct result of the shift of culture towards social media. Everything is directed at the eyes today, and the eyes are the most selfish sense of all the senses. What? Think about which sense requires no other contribution. We can hear and feel, and we can smell and taste, but we see in isolation as there is no other sense that can enhance our sight. You can see and hear, but sound does not travel as fast as light. Even thought it is a fraction of a second faster, light is still faster. We have become overly dependent on our eyes, but our eyes our not to be totally trusted. The picture above is an optical illusion. I can ask a question about that picture and you can answer correctly if your perception of that picture is the same as mine. But, if I see a face and your see a person walking we will have two totally different answers and both be right.What will matter most regarding right and wrong is who is asking the question.
Too many of us rush to judgment because of one perception, and never give our other senses time to confirm our one perception. As defining moments happen to us, we will immediately label them and file them. The older we get the more of these moments we will experience; we must allow time and our other senses an opportunity to make sense of the issue in front of us. Failure to do that will result in an altered perception of your life and a lack of understanding regarding what God is doing in your life. Defining moments do happen in groups. They are life changing triggers leading to a change in life. They are also opportunities afforded us to change. We need not miss any of those opportunities. They will be painful and challenging, but since when is anything worth anything not? Blessings!
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