Turning Points

There are a few moments in my life I can look back on and say that if they hadn't happened, I wouldn't be where I am today. 

July 25th, 2008 - I tore my ACL. One silly ligament was enough to send me down a very different path from the one I had anticipated back in high school. I didn't get to play Pronghorns that fall and as a result, I was able to play a large role in the single adult ward I was attending. I formed a network of friends that were good influences on me and helped me to be a better person. 

December, 2008 - I created a friendship with a girl who I think eventually helped me to meet my future husband. Starlene. She was from a small town I'd never heard of called Cherry Grove - the place where Joe grew up. Star and I became pretty close and were always together at every church function. So when my future sister-in-law, Anne Marie, moved into the ward in the fall of 2009 she stuck close to us because she knew Star from back home. Annie and I became thick as thieves that semester, so when her big brother, Joseph, moved down in 2010 there was no way our paths weren't going to cross. 

January 4th, 2010 - The very first time Joe and I laid eyes on each other. My first impression of him was, "Holy biceps, look at those arms!!" and "Man, that boy sure can talk". We didn't actually spend a lot of time together that night, mostly because I avoided him because he was so good looking and I didn't want Annie to catch me staring. In fact, we didn't see each other again until May. Joe lived on the westside of town so he was in a different ward from us and floated in a different group of friends. 

May, 2010 - Joe started hanging out with our group of friends. And we had a pretty good group going, so I don't blame him for coming over to our side. The rest, they say, is history. We started dating in June and by the end of the spring semester in 2011 we were engaged. And now, we've been happily married for a year and a half tomorrow! 

Four and a half years ago I would have never guessed that my life would be the way it is now. Had I not torn my ACL, I would have gone on to play for the Pronghorns. And because that would have taken up so much of my time, I would have never developed that network of friends that I had in the beginning. And if I'd never made those relationships, I could have missed out on meeting Annie and eventually, Joseph. 

So I guess the moral of the story is, even when something may look like a setback (like my ACL), it can really be God's way of telling you that He has a better path in mind for you. But the question is, will you fight it? Or are you willing to see where the path will lead?