His Love
Not Again
Again, the mind revolts at the face of yet another turning point in life. Why are there so many crossroads, so many turning points? Why could life not just be a straight highway home? Just when we think we have nearly reached a straight path, it curves yet again. And the road never ends.
But what is it that is actually happening when these crossroads come about? There is a very inspiring passage in One Being One that describes our situation and reminds us that the Lord may just want us to realize his presence through our struggles. The author writes:
He constantly seeks opportunities to flood us with an awareness of his inner presence, if only we will acknowledge him just a little.… He cares for us, and is always ready to nudge us, to give us a gentle reminder of his presence.
His reminder can come at any moment, often when we least expect it.… Or maybe we are in distress. Life has hurled its javelins at us, piercing our heart.… There is no clear way forward, and present circumstances are almost more than we can bear…. Or maybe we need to develop greater inner depth and sincerity. And with the kind of love we find so hard to understand, he sends us pain and hardship. And without our knowing, he simultaneously sustains us.… Or perhaps, our heart is dry, even disconsolate and, without our even thinking why, we pick up a book and happen upon a sentence or a passage that strikes us.… And inwardly, we are refreshed. In so many ways, each particular to our own selves, and to our own inner state at that time, he reaches out to us. Or rather draws us in – into the orbit of his love.… Such is the magic of the love with which he tends us, and which he weaves around us.
Each of us may have experienced that feeling described above. That feeling when everything seems to be a mess … but we still feel him. That feeling when we are upset at the people around us, we are stressed and troubled, but we still feel his love. And that keeps us going.
Yes, Once Again
So yes, just when we think we have had enough, and we want life to be a silky road, difficulties and troubles come storming once again. But, at least, during these painful moments, we feel his presence. At least, because of these difficulties, we call out to him, we cry, we beg, we make promises, we meditate.
And, at the end of the day, how big are our troubles anyway? There is a story that describes how a young boy’s older sister used to give him hair pins and rubber bands, pretending those were the keys to his bicycle. One day, the young boy lost his ‘keys’. He was undoubtedly afraid and this was a crisis to him. What was he going to do? But when he confessed his mistake to his sister, she just smiled. She was much older, and she had a better perspective. The Master has a better perspective as well. In the Master’s view, our severest struggles are nothing worse than lost hair pins and rubber bands.
He has already mapped our destiny out for us. We just need to have faith and patience. In One Being One, the author also acknowledges this, and sums up the state of serenity he bestows on us: “Time is no problem for the Being who created time. In the end, we discover that we … have always dwelt within the sanctuary of his love.”