Listen to your heart...

Do not set your goals only by what other people think is important. You and God know what is truly best for you.

For those struggling with problems...

It is hard to remember that your goal was to drain the swamp when you are up to your neck in alligators, but while you tend to the task at hand, always keep in mind the BIG PICTURE.

Wise words...

"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving."
-Dale Carnegie

Things usually happen for a reason - your own...

Every life is shaped to a certain extent by chance and by destiny. Ultimately, however, it is our own free will - our choices and actions - which matter.
Some say, "My life was predetermined. I did not ask for what happened to me, it was the will of God." They roll along thinking everything is circumstantial without any control (or responsibility) on their part. On the other end of the spectrum, it's said, "Life is a game of chance, karma does not exist, only accidents. You cannot determine what others do and what happens around (and to) you."
Both are wrong, there is nothing more influential than your own choices and actions.
It's what YOU do and how YOU react to what goes on around you that determines YOUR OWN circumstances. Sure, some things are more probable than others because of outside influences. God or karma (depending upon your beliefs) placed you in the family, the economic situation, the environment you were born into. In the end however, it's always what you do with the cards you've been dealt, that determine where you go in life. It does not matter what is put in front of you, what matters most, is what you do with it - how you react to it.
I believe a person's will, a divine plan and karma all coexist in a person. Make the most of them, the choice is yours.