Accidentally Yours...On Purpose

I'm not 100% sure I believe in accidents.  I guess I am one of those folks who truly believes everything happens for a reason/is part of God's plan/all fits together in some grand design.  I can sit and scratch my head, wondering how, or I can accept it and move on.  Just about everything in my life seems to weave together into this tapestry that makes sense when you look at it from a distance. 

Sometimes people refer to an unplanned pregnancy as "an accident".  I don't think that way.  I don't believe people are accidents.  Yes, having children at 18 and 20 was NOT part of MY plan.  Neither was the poverty, delayed education, young marriage and stress that accompanied it.  While I would never in a million years advise someone to actively seek that lifestyle, I will say this:  Had I gone with MY plan, I may never have had kids at all.  I may never have known the joys of motherhood.  I may never have learned how to be as resourceful and strong as I am today.  And I may never have had the life experiences that I strongly believe bestowed me with the empathy and insight to be the therapist I am today. 

On a lighter note, some of the happiest "accidents" have been when I stumble upon something new that I wasn't necessarily seeking.  Little out of the way, hole-in-the-wall places....greenhouses or craft stores or antique shops in the countryside...places that rarely advertise.  Meeting someone I wouldn't normally ever cross paths with and gaining a friend, a new connection.  Turning by accident to a different channel or radio station and hearing a piece of music that turns me on to a new artist.  I love things like this.