It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." -William Shakespeare

Sometimes life doesn't work the way you had originally anticipated. They say the easiest way to make God laugh is to tell him your future plans. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, but we also are given the choice to follow the reason.
One of my favorite chick flicks is "Serendipity", in many ways this movie is just funny how "things happen by chance" and sometimes they just fall together in the end. In many aspects the movie goes a little over the top with these happenstances, but it really makes you wonder if we are just not seeing the workings of the world around us because we are too close. If we cannot see the air we breath, can fish not see the water? Maybe we are too close to the problem to see the solution.
Many years ago, I ran into a church out of the rain and wasn't in the best of moods. I always went with a group of friends to this church every Sunday, and because it was raining, they had all ditched out because they didn't want to get wet. The rain was coming down pretty hard that day, so I really don't blame them, but as a younger student in college who didn't know many people, I wasn't very happy to be by myself. The pews were already filling up pretty fast, so I picked a pew at random and dried myself off. Right before we were about to begin, a few people sat down next to me. I didn't really notice them too much. When we were starting to sing the first hymn, I realized our pew did not have enough books, so I had to share with the person beside me. As the service continued, I noticed how pretty this girl. The last song was a nightmare to sing, it sped up and slowed down uncontrollably and this girl and I kept getting stuck on the verses. This opened up a conversation at the end of the service and the next thing I know, one thing led to another and after dinner together we were dating within the month. This girl was my first kiss (I was a late bloomer) and had a big impact on my life.
Although it has been years since we broke up and moved on, I constantly think, "what if". What if it hadn't been raining and my friends had joined me, what if I had picked a different row to sit in, what if we had enough books in the pews, what if the last song was a normal song, what if we hadn't struck up a conversation after the service? There were so many variables to consider and all of them happened to fall right into place. Of course I believe things happen by a sweet chance of serendipity, but I also believe we have a destiny to fill as well. Of course we will always have free will, but sometimes when you step back in order to see the world around you, just make sure you don't miss something.
Some of you may have noticed I have not been keeping up with the "daily" blog as much as I should and although I will try to continue on a normal basis, sometimes there are also bigger things at play. Sometimes my destiny may be calling me in another direction. A big goal of mine is to finish this 365 post project. I'm moving into post 130 tomorrow and I'm almost half-way done, but there are still many more beautiful things that might come up between then and now. The world works in mysterious ways, sometimes you just have to enjoy the ride. :)
Question time: Do you believe in destiny?