THE POWER OF FIRSTS:
Stay Open to Possibility
August always reminds me of the first day of school, so this month’s four weekly blogs will all highlight a “first!”
Have you ever played an old-fashioned pinball machine?
I sometimes think life works much the same way.
Imagine that you’re the silver ball.
Life launches you into the world, and for a while, you bounce from one experience to another… trying new things, searching for where you belong, and occasionally “pinging” off obstacles that send you in an entirely new direction.
That’s not failure.
That’s discovery.
One of my earliest “pings” came from an unexpected source.
The Girl Scouts.
Like many moms, mine signed me up in grade school, hoping it would be a fun activity and a chance to make new friends.
There was just one small problem.
Our troop loved camping.
I… did not.
Even as a child, I was an inside girl.
I preferred paint-by-number projects, drawing, reading, and playing school with my friends. I liked walls, windows, air conditioning, and the absence of mosquitoes.
Camping wasn’t exactly my dream.
Growing up in Tulsa, our nearest Girl Scout camp happened to be across the Oklahoma border in Buzzard, Arkansas.
Looking back, I probably should have taken the town’s name as a warning.
It was the week before Halloween.
Cold.
Rainy.
Covered in damp leaves.
We ate candy for dinner.
At some point, I fell asleep on a picnic table bench—in the rain.
For a child with allergies and asthma, it was the perfect recipe for getting sick.
That night, my parents came to rescue me.
Later, I learned the troop leader had gently suggested to my mom that Girl Scouts might not be my best fit.
Maybe I should try something like clarinet…or choir.
At the time, I’m sure it felt like rejection.
Today, I see it as one of life’s earliest gifts.
Because every “not a good fit” moves us one step closer to discovering what is.
Over the years, I’ve had plenty of those moments.
Not a good fit: Lifeguard.
Not a good fit: High school theatre.
A possible fit: Window display designer.
A possible fit: Graphic designer.
A better fit: Creative team leader.
And finally…The work that felt like coming home:
Helping authors bring their books into the world.
Looking back, I don’t regret a single one of those “pings.”
Each one redirected me.
Each one taught me something.
Each one narrowed the path until I eventually found where my gifts, my passions, and my purpose all came together.
That’s why I’ve learned to say, “Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
Thank you for the closed door.
Thank you for the opportunity that didn’t work out.
Thank you for showing me where I wasn’t meant to stay.
Without those moments, I might never have discovered where I truly belonged.
Maybe you’re experiencing one of life’s pings right now.
A career that no longer fits.
A dream that’s changing.
A door that’s unexpectedly closed.
Instead of asking, “Why is this happening?”
Try asking…
“What possibility is this opening?”
Sometimes your next first isn’t waiting behind the door that opened.
Sometimes it’s waiting behind the one that closed.
Stay open.
Keep moving.
And trust that every ping is helping guide you toward the place where you’ll one day say…
“I was meant to be here.”
