On the back wall of Northwest Barrie United Church, there hangs a series of banners on which is written the following prayer:
“Today may there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love
that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing that you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to
sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.”
Those words, despite having a contemporary ring to them, are actually very, very old. They are credited to a 16th-century mystic named St. Teresa of Avila. As a young woman, Teresa nearly died from a rare but deadly disease. She credited her recovery to God and devoted her life to one of study, prayer and contemplation.
Rarely a day goes by that I don’t read St. Teresa’s words as I come and go from the church. At least once or twice a day, my eyes fall on them, usually as I am walking from the hall kitchen back to my office after getting a snack. They are familiar. They are encouraging. They are comforting.
The second line in that prayer is the one that stands out for me, “may you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.” I think that is one of the most difficult things to do, to trust that where we are is where we are meant to be because often it is not where we want to be or where we thought we would be.
I want to think that everything that happens to us happens for a reason, but I’m not so sure. I think there is a certain amount of chance and randomness built into the fabric of life. We are not robots living towards a pre-programmed outcome, but we are thinking, feeling, curious creatures who may find ourselves in unfamiliar and unwanted places in life, not because of some divine reward or punishment or plan, but simply because we went left at the intersection instead of right. OR, we could find ourselves in uncharted territory not because of our own doing but because something or someone decided we should be there. Like billiard balls on a table, we are not immune to being bumped around. Where we settle may not be where we end up.
Where the idea of trust comes in for me is trusting in myself that regardless of where life has placed me, I can make the most of it and find the best in it. As I look back on my own journey through life, I have come to see a pattern. The best destinations have often come at the end of the most difficult journeys.
Do we choose our circumstances in life, or do our circumstances choose us? That’s a good question, one that will always be open to debate. But regardless of how we got to where we are, if we believe in ourselves, trust in our inner wisdom, and appreciate everything as an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and our world, then we will always be exactly where we are meant to be.
