It happens to all of us, some of us more often than others. To some of us, it happens early on in life and to others, it happens about every 10-15 years. It all depends but at some point, you will reach the crossroads in your life or your career.
How do we choose which road to take? Is it really just as simple as choosing one road and then not looking back? Well, those are the million dollar questions.
For the second time, I feel that I am at a crossroads. In 2002 March, I found myself standing at a smaller intersection. Do I extend my time in Germany in a job I loved and which I still consider the best job in the Air Force JAG Corps or do I go back home to the United States and take a job where the morale was at an all-time low, the new boss was not going to be any better, but the dating life would be awesome again? Well, I chose the path of coming home to the U.S. and although the job did prove to be as low as I expected, my dating and personal life did improve and I did find myself engaged to be married some 18 months after taking the path. At the crossroads of life, I felt like I did okay but there still isn't a day that goes by when I don't wonder what my life would have been like or where I would have ended up had I not come down this path. If I had chose the path to stay in Germany and then take a follow-on to Washington D.C., how would my life have turned out?
As I stand here today, almost three years later, I find myself at a more congested intersection, one which is fraught with higher stakes. Which road do I choose? On the one path, I get job security and a city which I always wanted to live in, one which is closer to my family. On the other path, I get the opportunity to make a family of my own, and have a career of my own choosing - a location of my own choosing. There are positives on both and risks on both paths. Which one is better? If I choose one path over another, will I spend the rest of my days wondering what life on the other path would have been like. I am certain I will think about it at least once a week. However, what I must recognize and what we must all recognize is that whatever path we choose, it is just that - a choice. Happiness comes from within ourselves and we choose whether to be happy or sad on whatever road we choose. We choose whether to live in regret and doubt and fear or whether to choose a path of living with the knowledge that the path which is laid out before us is the right one and there is no use in looking back because God made you choose the one you are on.
So, as you stand at your intersection, your crossroads in life, remember to weigh your options. Sometimes it is easier to choose because there is no doubt. Other times, it is more difficult. The most important thing to do is to accept your choice once you make it and walk down the path you chose. Enjoy the scenery, take your time, and make your journey a wonderful one... until of course, you reach your next crossroad in life ...
