Never Say Never
I recently came across a digital file that contains some incomplete blog posts I wrote over a decade ago. I was shocked at how much my opinion had changed on many subjects. But I also came across some writing that was a good start, but seemed incomplete after 10+ more years of life experience. The following is one of these (updated) posts.
After 58 years, I’ve learned a few things. And one of the most important is to never say never. I thought I was really smart. I had my whole life figured out by the time I was 20. At least I had expectations, and so far so good. Everything I’ve hoped and wished for has come into my life, although it didn’t always look the way I expected or arrive when I anticipated. Life has thrown us a few curveballs, but we’ve managed to turn them into home runs.
I’ve stopped trying to guess where my life is going. I still have hopes and dreams, but I’m not limited by them anymore. Now I just wait to see what wonderful grace will come my way next.
To make the waiting a bit easier, I’ve learned it’s not a good idea to burn bridges. You never know when you’ll want or need to cross them again. Leave all your options open whenever possible. Things change so quickly and so dramatically that you’ll want choices. Don’t put limits on yourself by destroying relationships or alienating the people who might help you along your journey. Just because you can’t see the value now doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Burning bridges is a vengeful, unforgiving act, and it’s not healthy under any circumstances. You don’t have to cross a bridge again if you don’t want to — but you always want to have the choice.
If there’s anything these years have taught me, it’s that life is far more fluid than we imagine when we’re young. The people we think we’re done with, the dreams we think we’ve outgrown, the paths we think are closed forever — they have a way of circling back when the timing is right. Grace shows up in unexpected places, often carried by the very people or opportunities we once dismissed.
So I try to walk gently now. I try to leave room for surprise. And I try to keep every bridge intact, just in case the next chapter of my life begins on the other side of one I once thought I’d never cross again.
