For lack of better words, the first twenty-three years of my life were a compilation of me throwing ish at the wall and hoping something would stick. I bounced around between my bazillion interests and set very random goals, trying to make sense of how I was going to do all the things, master all the skills, and visit all the places in my short time on Earth.

I won’t discredit the things I accomplished; sure, I did a lot. I ran some ridiculously long races, entered enough tennis tournaments to make Serena Williams proud, chased waterfalls on multiple continents, worked in three different research labs, and taught myself several instruments to name a few. But despite always having engaging micro-goals to work towards, I never was clear with myself about what my ultimate, top-priority goals were for my life.

If You Chase Two Rabbits…

A few months ago, I was perusing Reddit and was caught off guard by a slightly smart-ass (in true Reddit fashion), but also wise, answer to a question. Essentially, the question was:

“How do I balance running and lifting and training for <insert Army unit> and law school and work…” or something to that effect.

Fatefully indeed, I happened upon the comment that hit me like a ton of bricks:

“If you chase two rabbits, you’ll catch none.”

It dawned on me; I was the hopeless rabbit chaser. Not only was I chasing two rabbits; I was chasing two hundred, and all at the same time. In my frenzy to conquer every side quest that tickled my fancy, I had lost sight of the fact that in order to accomplish something truly extraordinary, I had to focus my efforts.

Once this harsh reality had sunk in, it was time to me to get to work and finally get some clarity on my life, using the bunny hunting metaphor as a guide. I came to the reassuring conclusion that while one should not chase too many rabbits at the same time, that doesn’t necessarily mean there will only be one rabbit for me to chase for the rest of my life. Once I capture one, I can move on to the next. Realistically, I probably won’t accomplish every single ambition on my miles-long bucket list before I’m returned to sender, but I can at least identify which objectives are most pivotal and start knocking them out in order.

Sincere Surrender

Next came the hard part – sorting and prioritizing. How was I, a scatterbrained mess, going to learn how to hone in on something and cut out the extra fluff?

Except it wasn’t actually that hard when I realized I needed to outsource it to someone else; someone who had already done the work and was just waiting for me to take notice. See, it’s not actually up to me what I was put on Earth for. My purpose was written on my soul by the King of the Universe long before I was born. Since He knows what my purpose is, He also knows what goals I should be investing my time into.

Now, I’m not going to pretend that God floated down from heaven with a crystal ball and showed me my future or wrote me a Hogwarts-esque letter revealing all my secret magical talents. Communicating with God doesn’t always come with great moments of prophecy and physics-defying miracles. In fact, it can sometimes feel like silence and isolation for long periods of time before the pieces fall into place.

However, after praying with sincere surrender and asking for guidance, my next mission became clear. I felt overwhelming purpose pulling me towards an electrifying goal, as He simultaneously opened up the right doors and orchestrated strange, inexplicable coincidences. As my calling became more apparent to me, detaching myself from my other aspirations became gradually more natural.

Lean Not on Your Own Understanding

Though this mindset shift I went through over the past year might not seem revolutionary, I can assure you that it truly has transformed my life. I still feel the same ravenous hunger to work hard every day, but now aimed at a much more meaningful (and daunting) goal than ever before. And, despite the fear, uncertainty, and impostor syndrome that creeps in from time to time, I’m able to ground myself in the verse that guided me through this whole process: Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 [NIV]

God will always reveal the way, as long as you take the leap of faith and truly release control. Though He never promises to make the way easy (some of His most influential followers have endured the greatest hardships), He will serve as your compass and continue to make the direction clear.

Phone a Friend

To bring us back to our opening metaphor, picture this.

It’s winter; prime rabbit hunting season. You’re stalking through the woods. Ah, there they are! Rabbit tracks. But wait, there are two of them – one going to the right, and one going to the left.

Two rabbits are better than one, right? Obviously, you should try to walk equidistant between the two tracks. That way, you can try to get close to both rabbits. Okay, just kidding, that’s obviously a pretty stupid plan. Right? Right???

So you’re not going to chase two rabbits today (thanks Reddit friend). You’ll choose one. But which rabbit should you go after? Which one is going to be tastier (or, for the vegans and animal lovers, which one is going to be a better pet)? Which one do you actually want to commit to catching, rather than chasing for a little while, getting bored, and retracing your steps to come back and start chasing the other one?

Given the conditions, you can’t possibly know which rabbit you should chase. The tracks are the same size, and both paths are pretty difficult to see down.

You’re at an impasse with yourself, so you decide to phone a friend (luckily for you, an all-knowing, all-powerful friend). You admit to your friend how incredible He is, and how you could never make a plan for chasing rabbits like He could. You decide to surrender fully to His rabbit-hunting decision. Then, not only does he tell you which rabbit to chase; he even gives you a map. Mind = blown.

A few hours later, you’re on your way home with your dinner (or new favorite fur baby). Aren’t you glad you trusted God with your rabbit hunting instead of stumbling through the brush trying to keep and eye on both as they’re both running further and further away?

How much more glad will you be when you trust Him with the most important decisions of your life?