Off the Beaten Track

 The 19th century German novelist, Theodor Fontane, once wrote, "But all the best things, like everywhere in life, lie off the beaten track."

I'm not sure about this one... Some of the best things in my life have been directly on the main path of my journey - my marriage, my children, my first career as a librarian. All these were things I consciously headed towards and enjoy(ed) when they happened.

But if he means that life can give us some delightful surprises when we aren't expecting them, then yes, I agree. And often, so it seems, things which later become important in our lives, we stumble across by accident. To give just one example, if my young daughter hadn't contracted conjunctivitis and if I hadn't taken her up to our local shopping centre in the pushchair to get us both out of the house, I might never have seen the advert in the estate agent's window for the home we have lived in for the past 23 years. And it was the best move we ever made.

Spiritual insights can also turn up in our lives when we aren't expecting them. I've written about my revelation that God is love in the centre of everything here. That insight changed my life big time. And on many occasions, my spiritual director or someone at Summer School has said something to me that has opened doors in my soul. These have added immeasurably to the richness of my spiritual life and I am grateful.