Second Wind

I really had no idea what I wanted to be.  I heard someone recently say how initially proud they were of their son when they said at a very young age they wanted to something like a doctor.  Then they said, “or a dinosaur.”
Ok I never dreamed of being a dinosaur, but I do remember saying I wanted to be either a teacher or an astronaut.
Yet I had a mate who said right through they wanted to be a pilot.  A pilot is what they became.  It required study and mastery of the subject matter, and then going through the appropriate channels to be what they wanted to be.  There was a slight change in that they became a passenger pilot rather than their first choice as a fighter pilot. It was their eyes that disqualified them from becoming a fighter pilot.  Their eyes were good but did not meet the very high expectation of fighter pilots.
I had no idea what I wanted.  I know I was not alone.   Three of us at my school chose to do ancient history instead of maths.  Yet all three of us ended up in finance where we needed maths all the time.
I have no regrets as to what I did with my life.   The places I have worked and the people I have met I reckon was perfect for my character.
Well when I say no regrets I can think of one.  It was the time I feel I wasted just drifting rather than pursuing a goal.  I feel there were a number of years I could have spent better, but to me life is not about looking back but looking forward.
They say there is only such a thing as a mistake if I do not learn from an experience.  Maybe it took longer than I would have liked, but for sure I learned the importance of avoiding drifting. 
It’s funny but I see treading water as something I have done when the tide was going out.  I may be treading water but because the tide was going out I was getting further from my goal.
But here I am as they say “full of years.” (well maybe not many put it that way.)  I do think it is like a mate of mine said, totally unexpectedly, “I do know that the years ahead are less than the years that have gone by.”
To me it is what I do with what I have left that counts.  The past is past.  I cannot change it.  But I can change my future and be thankful for much.  With God’s help I will end well.