[God] alone can make me who I am, or rather who I will be when at last I fully begin to be. But unless I desire this identity and work to find it with [God] and in [God], the work will never be done.

Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

In the new movie "The Matrix" Keanu Reeves is asked if he believes in fate. He says he doesn't because he believes only he controls his life.

I think he's right to a certain extent. I believe in a mix of fate and control. We have free will, that's where our control comes from. We are free to do whatever we please with our lives, whether we spend it watching tv, building a career or a family, or trying to save the world. He's right, it's our lives, and we control it.

But, there is a role that fate plays in our lives. I believe, if we truly want to seek God's will in our lives, then God has a place God intends for us to be. Merton gives us the key. The only way to reach this God-fated place is to desire to be there, and to work to find it with and in God. If we do not choose to do this, instead relying on "fate" to just put us where we're supposed to be, then "the work will never be done." We will not find the place God intends us to be.

If you want to know where God wants you to be, if you want to live the life God intends for you to live, there is work involved, and you must freely choose to do that work. God will never force us to become what God would have us be. We must use our own minds, and our own wills to want to get there, and be willing to put in the work. Then and only then will we at last, "fully begin to be."

Blessings,
Candace