Your ways, O God, make known to me; teach me your paths.
Psalm 25:4
Mazes have been a source of entertainment for generations. Made in gardens or cornfields, these intricate and interconnected pathways can provide hours of entertainment, while at the same time invoking doubt and confusion. We can get lost; feel like we will never find the end, and then rejoice when we reach our goal.
God’s ways can sometimes feel like a maze. We don’t always see a clear path. Choices abound and our own ego clouds our judgment. When we look forward, we see what appears to be a wall stopping our progression. But when we arrive at the wall, we see that it is actually part of a new path leading us toward the goal. Being open to learning and trusting in a new way, in God’s way, is the goal of a spiritual life. But we first need to realize that our ways and God’s ways are not always the same. We need to become teachable. Just as the psalmist acknowledges his ignorance and asks to be taught, so too can we. We can join one another on life’s journey, walk together through our failures and our success, and then rejoice with one another as we discover a new way of being, or a new way of showing God’s love to the world.
Maybe today we can ask God to open our hearts and our minds so that we may become teachable. Maybe we can welcome the education of God’s ways and paths for our lives trusting that God’s abundant love and grace for each and everyone of us will sustain us through unknown. Maybe today we can look at the walls in our path not as blocks, but as beginnings.
Rev. Joan
Spirit of Hope Catholic Community 