Many years ago, more than I like to admit actually, I traveled to England with a friend and came home a certified Anglophile. Growing up with the understanding that my maternal relatives came to this country on the Mayflower, I had always felt ties to England, but that trip cemented it and I spent the years since following the royal family, cheering on their milestones and grieving when tragedy struck.
When Queen Elizabeth II passed away, I mourned along with the country, but then moved on and thought my time following the royal family was gone with her. That is until this morning when I woke up thinking about her and how extraordinary she was.
Would but for the abdication of her uncle David, King Edward, she would not have been Queen. Would but for the early death of her father, King George VI, she would not have spent over 70 years on the throne. Would but for fate making her the first born, she would not have been Queen. Would but for her being born a girl into a family with no brothers, she would not have been Queen.
There were so many things that could have prevented her from ascending the throne that it seems miraculous that she became Queen at all and yet, as the longest serving Queen in what some believe to be any country, I believe Queen Elizabeth was simply fulfilling her destiny.
How many of us can say that? Was it my destiny to be a writer and if so, why did it take so very long into my life to fulfill it? Was it my father’s destiny to be a truck driver or my brother’s to make a career in the Navy? Destiny is not fate, at least I don’t think it is, but I can’t help but believe that some people are truly destined to be the person they become while others are not.
Can it be called destiny when hard work, a good education, and a tenacious drive to achieve our life’s ambition leads to success? While Queen Elizabeth’s lengthy reign will be remembered not for how she ascended the throne, but for what she did while seated on the throne, her drive to be the best Queen for her country had nothing to do with her becoming Queen. What happened after she took the crown was on her. She was destined to become Queen, but it was her hard work and dedication that made her a good Queen.
Certainly many of us can look back at our lives and find any number of “would but fors” that in part shaped our own destiny, yet we can only imagine what our destiny would have been without them. Does that leave our destiny unfulfilled? That’s a question for a higher power, but as someone who discovered the ability to be an author later in life, I can verify that it’s never too late for find your true destiny. It may be like a love that finds you when you aren’t looking for it. Those who have yet to find their destiny may simply need to remain open to the possibility and let that destiny find you.
Whatever your destiny, whatever the “would but for” that stand in your way, whether your destiny is grand enough to change the world or just your little corner of it, I wish for you to be open to it and when it comes, to make the most of it just as the young girl Elizabeth did when destiny came calling for her.
Be well my friends and may your destiny be fulfilled!
~BAL
Author Barbara A. Luker 