The Given Life

Finding joy in what we have.

When I was a young girl, I dreamed of traveling the world and writing about it. I wanted to meet new people, see new places, savor new cultures, and share those experiences with others. When I wasn’t traveling, I hoped to be authoring novels from a quaint cabin in Vermont.   

As I grew up, those hopes and dreams changed, but I still had expectations of what my life would look and feel like. It still involved writing and some version of the perfect family living in a home with a white picket fence — and a puppy, my boys would say.   

This picture of life was somehow frozen in time. My kids still lived at home and my parents did not age. Loss of relationships, health concerns, and financial stress were not part of the picture. In my dream, I was living the life I wanted, and it was perfect.   

If only our dreams were reality.   

Instead, as Wendell Berry has said, “We live the given life, not the planned life.”   

If I am honest, for most of my adult life, I have reacted to and resisted the life I have been given. I have been conditioned to see change as bad and surprises as threatening. This belief has resulted in a constant striving to create the life I want. To pursue life as I would like it to be.   

I have lived the planned life, and it has been exhausting.   

In recent years, I have begun to discover the joy in living the life I have been given instead. Life that includes family and friends moving away, unexpected health concerns, relational and leadership challenges, and more.   

This change of perspective has resulted in more gratitude, contentment, and joy than I ever imagined. But to discover this joy, I had to surrender the idea about what my life should look like and trust that God knows better.   

Luke 12:32 reminds us, “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights in giving you the kingdom.”   

This verse brings me comfort. God is the Good Shepherd, watching over us, and keeping us safe from harm. He is urging us not to be afraid because he is not just there to keep us safe, but to give us the kingdom. He delights in giving us more than we could want or even ask for. It just might not look like what we have in mind!   

So here we are with a choice. Will we choose to jump into the life we have and make the most of the opportunities and relationships we have been given? Or will we strive to create the life we want?   

It is our choice, but the Jesus way reveals a clear path. 2 Peter 1:5 answers the question this way, “Don’t waste a minute in building on what you’ve been given.”   

In the days and months to come, may you find joy in receiving and responding to your given life. 

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Beth Bramstedt is the Church Life Pastor at Christian Fellowship.