Destiny: What if We Could Surprise God?

The first thing I think of when I hear the word “destiny” is of how awkward and dorky I was when I was younger. In junior high, I had a classmate named Destiny. And since destiny is something that determines the future, I would call her “Future”. But since I was still stuck in little kid mode, I would make my hand into this alligator like character — a hand turned puppet called Ally Gator — and would make my hand exclaim “Future!” in this loud, childish, high octave voice. I cringe just thinking about it. And for every time I said it, Destiny H., I’m truly sorry.

Getting that out of the way, what truly is destiny? Is our future predetermined? Are we destined to make certain steps in life, or can we alter our journey by changing our choices deliberately?

Looking back at my life, there were many times I can see that I made poor choices. I can also see that, though I went through pain because of some of those choices, my history has gotten me where I am today. If I knew I was destined to end up where I am, would I have changed it? In many of my tough times, there were positive things that came out of it, too. Was I destined to go through the pain, just to reap the small benefits? If I would have known the ending, would I have changed the pain and lost the good? In some cases, I either wasn’t aware of all the options out there or didn’t see that I had another choice. I felt forced into some of my choices. Was that destiny whispering in my ear?

Dictionary.com says destiny is:

1. something that is to happen or has happened to a particular person or thing; lot or fortune

2. the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events.

3. the power or agency that determines the course of events

4. this power personified or represented as a goddess (initial capital letter)

5. the Destinies, the Fates

Origin: to establish, determine, stand

If I destine something, I set it apart for a special purpose. We like to think there’s a god that sets each of us aside for a special purpose, that each of us has a lot in life, a role to fill, a duty to fulfill, something we need to do before we die. A purpose. Our destiny, our future is tied to our purpose. We ascertain ourselves that the reason we are still alive is because God hasn’t fulfilled our purpose: that we haven’t finished what God intended for us to do. We sometimes question if there is a purpose to our lives. When we are suffering, we wonder if this is our lot in life, if God is letting this happen, if this is meant to be.

When we talk about destiny, inevitably, God gets inserted into it. An omnipotent being that understands what will happen before it happens. Even if we believe that God allows us to choose, this God supposedly knows what choices we are going to make, even before we do. And God lets us make them, even when they’re not good for us. Whether you believe in a benevolent God, an indifferent God, or an angry God, destiny tells us God knows what path we are headed down.

Why does God let us make these choices? Are our choices life lessons, even the hard ones, the ones that bring us pain? Are we assumed to be hard-wired to bring ourselves pain? Once we head down a path toward destruction, is the assumption that we cannot be fixed? Is God apathetic to humans? Has God given up, like in the television series Supernatural? Does God expect us to keep floundering and making choices to separate ourselves from each other, destroying our environment and building hate towards each other, as so many do? Is that why we are left to our destinies, left to fulfill them unhindered?

What if we could surprise God?

What if we could make choices in our lives that changed our destinies? If we are destined to make mistakes, what if we consciously tried to become better people? Not perfect, but what if every small kind deed was a little surprise for God? What if every alcoholic that walked into AA and turned their life around, every person that held a door open for someone with their arms full, every apology said, every time a person tried to understand the position of someone they disagreed with — was a little surprise for God? What if, even if we kept making mistakes, we surprised God in a million little ways, each of us, again and again? What if we found a way to come together and see each other’s similarities more than our differences?

Would it collectively change humanity’s destiny?

Would it at least make it a better place to live?

2–18–22

Tansy Julie Soaring Eagle Paschold