Today is Friday the 13th, the most unlucky, dangerous day on the calendar. It also happens to be my mom's birthday. In fact, she was born on a Friday the 13th. Happy Birthday mom!
This is a notorious day, full of fears, and while it may seem ridiculous, it affects 17 to 21 million people in the United States, paralyzing them, some to the point that they won't even get out of bed today. $800-$900 million will be lost in business today because people won't go to work. In fact, there is a phobia solely around Friday the 13th, it's called paraskevidekatriaphobia in case you were curious, and related to that, the fear of the number 13 in general is called triskaidekaphobia. Many businesses/hotels/buildings/airports/etc... avoid the number 13. They don't have rooms or floors or terminals numbered 13 because there is such a great fear and superstition surrounding it. Any and all number of terrible, unfortunate events are sure to take place today. Such is the way of bad luck and misfortune.(1)
With all of this caution and fear surrounding Friday the 13th, it would seem that to be born on this day would be one of worst things that could happen to you. You would be plagued with bad luck your entire life, sentenced to an existence ripe with misfortune. Or would it? In my mind, the idea of ascribing so much power to the day you were born seems a bit ridiculous, and yet, for almost all of human history, the circumstances surrounding one's birth (the time of year you were born, the family/cast/economic situation/city you were born into) have held huge weight in how others view you and how you view yourself. While the idea of being born on Friday the 13th having any actual bearing on the outcome of your life seems silly, the idea that fate and destiny pull on every person, guiding and determining their course is a deeply held belief for many throughout history.
Ancient cultures placed a lot of importance on the fates and destiny guiding and directing, even determining, every action, every success, every failure. While our culture today doesn't quite put the same significance on fate and destiny, for many people, we still believe that there is some ultimate destiny for our lives that guides and directs us. It gives us hope when things are hard and comfort when we don't know what to do or what decisions to make. We can rest in the knowledge that there is some greater destiny overseeing and directing our decisions. The responsibility doesn't lie entirely on our shoulders.
But, is it real? Are people born into a destined path, foreseen by fate? What do you believe?
Here's my thought. Every person, from the youngest, meekest, sickest outcast child in the slums of some devastated town to the strongest, richest, most influential and powerful world leader has a specific calling and plan for their life. They have a mission and purpose in life. You have a mission and purpose in life, one that you are uniquely gifted and equipped to accomplish. We are, each, DESIGNED. That is important. Care has been taken to craft you to fulfill your mission, and you are fully equipped to do so. Now, this plan, this "destiny," is not dependent on your circumstances or the location or time of your birth. A sick outcast child may have a mission that involves huge, world changing accomplishments. A world leader may have a mission that involves helping a single child. Or they may be flipped or lie anywhere between.
It has been said that that Jesus was born and lived in the perfect time and place in human history to spread the message of Christianity to the world, but He was not the Messiah because he happened to be born in that time and place. He was born at that specific time and place because He was the Messiah, and because God, knowing all things, knew that that was the exact moment that He needed to be born in order to accomplish His mission.
Fate and Destiny can provide hope and comfort when we are at a loss for what to do, because they are in control, not us. This is another point that I differ on, for while the idea of fate driving our boat down the river of our destiny can offer some comfort when we don't know how to pilot a ship, it removes responsibility from our lives. We are born with a mission, a purpose, equipped with the tools we need or the means of obtaining the tools we need, to accomplish this purpose, but we have to take steps to fulfill that mission. God has a plan for your life, and while He will allow and place you in situations that will help you and push you toward your "destiny," He will not force you into it. We have the freedom to choose whether or not we will follow, how much we will adhere to the plan designed for us.
So, if you happen to have been born on Friday the 13th, or any other circumstances of your birth or life have left you feeling as if The Fates have it out for you, know that there is a plan for your life, a purpose for which you were specifically designed for, but it is not a destination toward which you are being pulled unwittingly as a result of things you have no control over. Rather, it is a partnership, in which you have freedom, and if you follow the plan set out for you, by the one who designed and assigned you, know that those plans are for your good and will provide hope in this life.(2)
(1) Info on Friday the 13th
(2) Jeremiah 29:11
But, is it real? Are people born into a destined path, foreseen by fate? What do you believe?
Here's my thought. Every person, from the youngest, meekest, sickest outcast child in the slums of some devastated town to the strongest, richest, most influential and powerful world leader has a specific calling and plan for their life. They have a mission and purpose in life. You have a mission and purpose in life, one that you are uniquely gifted and equipped to accomplish. We are, each, DESIGNED. That is important. Care has been taken to craft you to fulfill your mission, and you are fully equipped to do so. Now, this plan, this "destiny," is not dependent on your circumstances or the location or time of your birth. A sick outcast child may have a mission that involves huge, world changing accomplishments. A world leader may have a mission that involves helping a single child. Or they may be flipped or lie anywhere between.
It has been said that that Jesus was born and lived in the perfect time and place in human history to spread the message of Christianity to the world, but He was not the Messiah because he happened to be born in that time and place. He was born at that specific time and place because He was the Messiah, and because God, knowing all things, knew that that was the exact moment that He needed to be born in order to accomplish His mission.
Fate and Destiny can provide hope and comfort when we are at a loss for what to do, because they are in control, not us. This is another point that I differ on, for while the idea of fate driving our boat down the river of our destiny can offer some comfort when we don't know how to pilot a ship, it removes responsibility from our lives. We are born with a mission, a purpose, equipped with the tools we need or the means of obtaining the tools we need, to accomplish this purpose, but we have to take steps to fulfill that mission. God has a plan for your life, and while He will allow and place you in situations that will help you and push you toward your "destiny," He will not force you into it. We have the freedom to choose whether or not we will follow, how much we will adhere to the plan designed for us.
So, if you happen to have been born on Friday the 13th, or any other circumstances of your birth or life have left you feeling as if The Fates have it out for you, know that there is a plan for your life, a purpose for which you were specifically designed for, but it is not a destination toward which you are being pulled unwittingly as a result of things you have no control over. Rather, it is a partnership, in which you have freedom, and if you follow the plan set out for you, by the one who designed and assigned you, know that those plans are for your good and will provide hope in this life.(2)
(1) Info on Friday the 13th
(2) Jeremiah 29:11
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