A Fairytale of Destiny

"It started with a flirty glance and turned into a lifetime commitment that was destined."

- Bridgit Muratore

A Fairytale of Destiny

I had gone to Las Vegas to celebrate my cousin’s birthday.  We spent the day lounging poolside, sipping cocktails and soaking in the sun.  After dinner, we found ourselves in the middle of a casino amidst the table games.  Between laughter, betting, and drinking I looked up and across the pit locked eyes with a man playing blackjack.  Fueled by flirty courage I winked and turned back to my table.  I didn’t see him again until the end of the evening when he walked straight up to me.  Fireworks sparked as he introduced himself and deep within me, I was forever changed. 

Life happened quickly after our first meeting.  I moved five months later, a proposal came soon afterwards, another year and we were married, and the following year he passed away.  It started with a flirty glance and turned into a lifetime commitment that was destined.  There are some things in life that don’t appear to have a choice and he was one of them.  He was meant to be in my life, and I was meant to be in his for whatever length of time we had.   

I have struggled with the idea of destiny versus free choice.  I love to see God work in my life but can become complacent believing God will take care of my needs through destiny.  In my mind, I need to balance destiny with action, or I can miss experiences that are designed to help me grow along the way.  One of the Emphory practices is Choice is My Superpower, which for me, means I can choose how to live through events that are destined.  Shortly after his surgery, my first husband knew the cancer would take his life and he prepared me to continue living the life we dreamed of having together.  He told me I would love again, marry, have children, and grow old.  He told me all the things I didn’t want to imagine without him.   

After his death, I had a choice to continue living my life wrapped in the story of sadness and loss or I could move forward.  Though the choice was available, it wasn’t easy.  Sometimes in destiny bad things happen, situations are hard, and life can suck.  However, when I succumbed to the pain I also succumbed to a story of grief.  I allowed my identity to be masked by the role of a widow.  It took years of healing for me to come to a place where I was aware of the stories I carried.  The real superpower I encountered was to recognize the stories for what they were and choose the story I wanted to live through.  For me, Choice is My Superpower, means I don’t have to continue living in patterns of old stories.  My strength comes in recognizing when I’m stuck in a story which gives me the option to choose something different.  I don’t have to live my life victimized by the events of my past but can choose to live the life of my preference.  The invitation to experience true choice is always available.   

"...choice is my superpower means I don't have to continue living in patterns of old stories."

Several years ago, I was in the middle of house hunting and had decided I could live the rest of my life without a man by my side.  I had loved unconditionally, he had loved me, and that could be enough for my life.  God had other plans.  I found a great house; my offer was accepted, and I realized though I could spend the rest of my life alone it wasn’t my desire.  I desired to spend my life with a companion, and it hurt that I was living this life alone.  I decided I wanted to share my life with someone else in it, so I created an on-line profile and put myself back in the dating market.  I had hundreds of excuses as to why on-line dating wouldn’t work therefore; I waited a few days after submitting the profile to check it again.  I was surprised to see responses but only one picture, and one comment caught my attention.  He was the only person I responded to and once again, I was forever changed.  Life happened quickly after our first meeting.  Eight months later we were engaged, three months after that he moved and the following month we were married.  It started with a flirty comment and turned into a lifetime commitment that was destined.  There are some things in life that don’t appear to have a choice and he was one of them.  He was meant to be in my life, and I was meant to be in his.  Fairytale love stories don’t always happen, but for me it was destiny to have two.