I wrote this back in December of 2019, and since then the world has surprised us with many challenges. I wanted to share it with you now as an invitation to be open for hopeful surprises too.
“I can see where this is going” I said to a wise friend. The story that was unfolding in my life followed a well-established pattern, and the ending seemed inevitable. Like in a television show where the most famous guest star always turns out to be the villain, or the romantic comedy where the stars always end up together, some things in life just seem inevitable.
Usually, this is a good thing. The sun rises and sets like clockwork. Our part of the world is cold in the winter and warm in the summer. If you put a little bit in savings each week it eventually adds up in a predictable and reassuring way.
But in this case I could see things were headed in the wrong direction, and I didn’t know how to help turn them around. I was resigning myself to a long slow slog through dreary territory, but my friend challenged me “How do you know that’s where it’s going? How can you be sure you are right?” I’ve been right about this in the past, and this had all the signs, I told her. I didn’t want to be right, but I couldn’t imagine any other outcome. “Are you making room for the God of surprises?” she asked.
This reminder opened the door and let in fresh air, because surprises do happen. Remember the joy of a surprising snow day when you were a child? Or maybe you’ve had an unexpected tax refund or a loved one whose spontaneous remission bewildered doctors. Who could have predicted even 20 years ago we’d all be carrying the whole internet in our pockets?
Many religious traditions have some sort of “trickster” character who helps us out of our ruts and habits. Of course the tricksters rarely do just what we expect- that wouldn’t be in their nature. We may wish for one thing and get something else altogether. Our expectations are often disappointed, and we rarely think “there’s that trickster again, always shaking things up.” But when we are stuck we need that trickster to open surprising new directions.
Mostly we like it when the divine is consistent and reliable. We need to be able to count on the pillars and building blocks of our life. But sometimes when we are discouraged, when we can’t see a way forward, it is good to remember that life is not really like the movies; it defies the clichéd and expected patterns and leads us places we’d never imagine.
So the next time you feel stuck and can’t imagine a hopeful path forward, remember the spirit of surprise. If you have a prayer practice, you can even bring this into prayer: “Spirit of Life, I see the direction we are going, and I am afraid we are stuck. Please surprise me. Please open a new door I have not yet seen.” And then we open ourselves to receive whatever the surprises the future may bring.
