A Love Story

About Predestination and Free Will

Once upon a time in a small village in Asia two families agreed to an arranged marriage for their newborn son Will and daughter Destiny, as their custom dictated. While their children were still toddlers, both families emigrated to America and settled in distant communities. 

Over the years Destiny grew into a loving child, secure in her knowledge of her parents’ love for her and their wisdom in selecting a spouse for her. They told her about the marriage they had arranged for her but did not tell her the name of her future spouse.

On the other hand, Will’s family did not talk about the arranged marriage, assuming he understood their customs and would accept his bride when the time was appropriate. However, growing up in America, Will followed the dating patterns of his friends, looking for the woman he would love and choose to marry. Will was very aware of his parents’ love for him and assumed that they would be happy with his choice of a spouse.

When time for college came, Destiny and Will ended up attending the same university. As fate would have it, they had a couple of classes together, and became friends. Over the next year they grew closer and their relationship turned romantic.  While she was at home for a summer break from school, Destiny’s parents told her the name of her betrothed, Will. After some questioning, she discovered that her beloved Will was actually her promised husband. She, of course, was delighted that her parents’ choice, through an arrangement made at her birth, was also the man she fell in love with as a young adult. 

That same summer Will told his parents that he had decided to propose to his girlfriend, Destiny. Happily they revealed to him that Destiny was indeed the woman to whom he had been betrothed at birth. 

So you see, dear children, some place in the spiritual realm above Destiny and Will, and even above their parents’ knowledge, the divine arranger sees the way predestination and free will merge in His orchestration of life.