We can understand our relationship with God by looking at our relationships with human beings. Our relationships with our loved ones teach us sooner or later that, as deeply as we know someone, we can never know anyone totally. Each of us is a Mystery in the depths of our souls where we are united to God, Who is Absolute Mystery. Our souls are eternal, created in the Image and Likeness of God, and so, like God we remain forever Mystery. But the one thing we do know about each other is that our deepest desire is to be united with each other in love. Love is the key to understanding our relationship with God, because while God is so Mysterious and seemingly distant, God is also approachable Love. Love is the key to understanding how and why God allows us to choose our destinies.
Because God loves us, He does not overstep His Bounds, violate our free will. Our relationship with God is more like a continuous, loving dance, in which we choose to take steps forward and choose our destiny, and yet God is embracing us and inspiring us and guiding us around the dance floor. All that God asks, as we dance together, is that we choose a destiny fashioned of love. Every destiny we choose needs to be a dance of love whose steps move us closer to and deeper into the heart of God.
For two dancers to work well as a team, each partner has to know his/her strengths and gifts. Take the time to look into the depths of your mind, heart, and soul, and marvel at how beautifully God has formed you! God does not want you to be dependent on Him in an unhealthy way; God wants you to know very realistically what you're capable of and to not be afraid to have big dreams about learning and taking new steps, going in new directions as you choose the kind of life to lead. As long as these steps lead you to know how to love more freely, love more deeply, God will support you and empower you.
Henry Drummond says "You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love." No matter what vocation you choose, what job you have, what person you marry, what talents you develop, what hobbies you have, what church you join, what charities you give your time, talent, and money to, as long as every decision you make is done with conscious love, a conscious desire to please God, God is with you holding you up, strengthening you, inspiring you.
Because God is Mystery, there will be times when your life's path swerves into a darkness you do not understand. Your choices for how to live your life are thwarted. God is allowing things to happen that you would never choose. Now comes the time and the need to trust the Mysterious Other Dancer, the Partner Who embraces you with love, inspires you, strengthens you. God empowers you to walk the path you have not chosen, to find new ways and new occasions to love. Sometimes the path you never would have chosen becomes the path you ultimately freely choose. The destiny you never could have foreseen becomes the destiny you embrace with awe and thanksgiving.
We each choose our own destinies, while God dances with us, embracing us, inspiring us, gracing us, upholding us when our steps falter, mysteriously guiding us all the way through our lives. Embrace each choice you make with great love. Trust that if you love God, God will both support every destiny you choose - but also mysteriously He will guide you to great destinies you may never have dreamed of!