I’m not sure I’ve looked at life that way. Maybe unconsciously, but I’ve never considered myself a goal setter. There have been things I’ve done, and completed, but it’s never been that I’ve sat down and made a five-year plan or an itemized list and checked things off. It’s never felt like my life has been one long To Do list.
The biggest endeavor we undertook– as a family, though the kids probably wouldn’t describe it that way– was when we pulled up roots and moved to Gettysburg so I could go to seminary. The unstated or assumed goal– the mission– was to sustain and support ourselves along the way, and to complete the course of study, which we did. What followed for the next 26 years involved my unstated and, again, assumed purpose of being present for my family and the people of the congregations I served– a sometimes difficult balancing act.
Goal setting has always been sort of a mystery to me. My life has felt more Forrest Gump-like than anything done with intentionality and blinders on.
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