{"id":284,"date":"2010-02-04T14:59:53","date_gmt":"2010-02-04T19:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karencasey.wordpress.com\/?p=284"},"modified":"2010-02-04T14:59:53","modified_gmt":"2010-02-04T19:59:53","slug":"our-encounters-with-others-are-by-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=284","title":{"rendered":"Our encounters with others are by design. . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

EVERY EXPERIENCE IS OFFERING THE NEXT \u201cRIGHT\u201d LESSON AND THE RIGHT PARTNER TO LEARN IT WITH<\/strong>.\u00a0This idea can be exceedingly comforting.\u00a0 The past is not a pretty sight for many of us who finally wander into the rooms of recovery.\u00a0 My early life was replete with experiences that were ugly, oftentimes dangerous, and according to others, on the edge of insanity far too often.\u00a0 But I survived them all and I have a story that has, on occasion, been helpful to some one who has come to me for guidance.\u00a0 I developed hope eventually, hope that my life could be as sane as the lives of those men and women who carried their message to the meetings we shared.\u00a0 The hope I developed from listening to others is what I now freely offer to the \u201cwanderers\u201d who come my way until they have the capacity to create hope for themselves.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s such a blessing that until we can ignite hope for our own lives, we can observe how it has played out in the lives of others, and those examples serve us well.\u00a0 Having hope is akin to finding food when you are starving.\u00a0 It allows you not only to continue living but to have the strength to do what had seemed impossible only days or perhaps even moments before.\u00a0 Hope is a powerful elixir.\u00a0 Without it, lives remain unchanged and that which is ours to do, remains undone.<\/p>\n

Returning now to the principle of this essay, no matter what experience seems to be catching our attention, it allows for greater peace of mind to believe that it\u2019s the next, necessary thing on our plate or it wouldn\u2019t have shown up.\u00a0 It\u2019s as simple as that.\u00a0 And the person who \u201ccarries\u201d the experience to us is part of the lesson we have been waiting for. We can trust that we have been fully prepared for the lesson and the \u201ccarrier.\u201d\u00a0 Nothing comes to us that we aren\u2019t ready for.\u00a0 We may want to resist what has come, but this is where hope can play a role.\u00a0 Knowing that what has selected us<\/em> is by design, diminishes our fear and releases in us the hope we need that we can fulfill the responsibility that has come calling.<\/p>\n

In some instances this may seem easier to believe than in others.\u00a0 A lost job often opens the door to a better one.\u00a0 We have\u00a0 seen this played out many times with others.\u00a0 An unwanted divorce might be accepted in time as having been necessary too. Our next partner was already waiting.\u00a0 But it\u2019s hard not to feel that the experiences of servicemen who have been killed or gravely injured or abused children or youngsters who are caught in the line of fire and die, can\u2019t possibly be classified in the same way.\u00a0 It\u2019s not my intent to do that but to offer a possibility for how to accept the \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

We simply don\u2019t know what the design is for any one else\u2019s life.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know the specifics of any one\u2019s journey.\u00a0 That\u2019s between each person and his Creator.\u00a0 What can be known, however, is that we can all gather around the injured parties, offering our love and support.\u00a0 We can pray for their loved ones to remain strong and faith-filled.\u00a0 We can pass on hope to those who have no capacity for feeling it in the moment.\u00a0 And every time we experience hope for any one, it strengthens it in all of us.\u00a0It\u2019s a relief knowing that what comes every day is part of \u201cthe plan.\u201d\u00a0 It takes the worry out of the day and makes room for the hope that\u2019s necessary to move forward<\/em>.<\/p>\n


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EVERY EXPERIENCE IS OFFERING THE NEXT \u201cRIGHT\u201d LESSON AND THE RIGHT PARTNER TO LEARN IT WITH.\u00a0This idea can be exceedingly comforting.\u00a0 The past is not a pretty sight for many of us who finally wander into the rooms of recovery.\u00a0 My early life was replete with experiences that were ugly, oftentimes dangerous, and according to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[59,65],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-your-experience-strength-and-hope","tag-destiny","tag-divinity"],"yoast_head":"\nOur encounters with others are by design. . . | Karen Casey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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