I believe that God assigns all of us our unique individual paths in life.

While every path is specific to each individual, every path leads to one place: God.

From the time we’re born until we take our last breath, we have a path we are meant to follow. Our paths include our careers, our families, friends, hobbies, volunteering, talents, etc.

Whatever God’s plan is for us is on this path. Sure, there are side paths that lead off of the main path, but often these side paths lead to either dead ends or inaccessible trails leading to dark and treacherous areas.

I’ve always imagined the path as cutting through a forest of trees and bushes. A path that’s not really paved, but has gravel, and along the path, there are offshoots of other smaller paths and trails. Some of the trails lead to nowhere and are dead ends, forcing us to backtrack to the main path.

Some of the offshoot paths are filled with danger and thorn bushes and brambles and poisonous plants that can and will kill you if you stay too long. If you’re not careful, you can get trapped in these offshoots and die away from the main path. But if you do get trapped you may still get back on that main path. All you need to do is cry out to the Lord. Either He will send someone close to you who will hear your cries and come to help lead you back, or God will show you the way.

All you have to do is be still and know that He is there.

My point is this; Every single path leads to the same place but not all of our paths are the same. Paths can run parallel to each other, and sometimes paths intersect for a while but then break off from each other. The common denominator in all of the paths is that the paths are created by God and every path has the Word of God written into it. It’s our Free Will that determines how well we follow this God-given path and I think it’s all but inevitable that each and every one of us, occasionally stumbles and/or intentionally leaves the path.

This blog is about my path and how I feel it connects to others and what it means to me. For those just joining the blog, I’ve recently completed over a year of treatment for brain cancer which only ended this past June. I can honestly say, I would never have dreamed that brain cancer was going to show up on my path. But now that I’m on the other side of treatment, I’m grateful that it did. It’s opened up an entirely new world to me and has, fortunately, strengthened my faith in God.

My goal for this blog is to talk about the things we all have in common on our paths and to do so in a humorous, modern-day Erma Bombeckish way. I remember connecting with her writing as a much younger person and to this day, her wit and humor stand the test of time. I have several favorite quotes of hers but the following is the most apt for this blog:

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I do not have a single bit of talent left and could say ‘I used everything you gave me’.”

Erma Bombeck

I hope that you will subscribe to this blog so that you can comment on my posts and we can have a dialogue about life and whatnot.

-Julie