For a long time, I have appreciated the word, serendipity. Happy surprises is a good way to understand serendipity. I like to think that serendipity is always a good deal, so I welcome it. It is different from luck, which can go both ways, as we know. Serendipity is a form of grace, as I see it. It comes unbeckoned. You don’t plan or scheme for it. You cannot make it happen. All you can do is respond to it and appreciate it. I cringe at how often I must have missed it because I was too busy or preoccupied. I suspect much of the contemplative way of being spiritual is learning to be aware of and appreciate serendipity.
Recently serendipity visited me
again. As often is the case, I did not
actually know what was given to me. Its
origin was very simple. I had published
a short article, which is a nice experience in and of itself. It is always affirming when someone says yes
to sharing some of my words with the public.
It was a decently done piece of work, but not prize-winning. A couple of my colleagues knew it had been
published and nodded with the obligatory, “good job” comment. And that’s about the extent of the
matter. In most cases, I have no clue
who might even read it, much less what they might think about it.
However, it was not the end of
it. An email appeared one day from a
name I did not recognize. The inbox said
something like, “heartfelt thanks.” If
that is not invitational, I am not sure what is. I doubt I was as careful as I should have
been about it being possibly nefarious bug waiting to infest my computer. I opened it and began to read some words from
someone I do not know. I was being
complimented on the article. The reader
clearly had read it and also knew something about the subject matter of the
article itself. That in itself is a
gift.
But that is not the best part. I replied expressing my gratitude for her
words. It was an email that had been
crafted more like an old-fashioned letter.
It was written with forethought and, more importantly, with heart. Most emails I get have little to no
heart! There were a couple more
exchanges with the email writer. That
could have been the end of the matter.
And that would have been pretty good.
I am not the kind of person content
to leave it at that. I am curious. And so I did what I always am trying to get
students to do: be curious and then act on the curiosity. Since Google answers everything, I typed in
the name of the person who had sent the email.
She was the first one to pop up.
Suddenly and serendipitously, I was introduced to some forty years of
history with this person. She is actually
a big name in her field and I had no clue.
Surprisingly, there are a couple places where her work and my work touch
each other, but again I did not know it.
I have interests in multiple areas, although some of them I have not
pursued in any depth. She occupied one
of those areas.
The more I read, the more I felt
drawn to pursue this. Clearly, she is a
gifted, thoughtful person who has had a clarity of vision for a long time and
has acted on that---such an admirable quality.
Because of the blessings of technology, I could see what she looked like
and even know how she sounds. She is no
longer simply the anonymous sender of a nice email. She has become a person. Not only that, she has become of a person
with breadth, depth and a big dose of the Spirit. I have learned all that…and I have never met
her or talked to her in real life.
But I will. Because I see the work of the Spirit here, I
intend to pursue it. I don’t know where
the Spirit is leading, but that is not important right now. Serendipity has given me a gift; now is time
for me to multiple the grace of the gift.
It is like the story Jesus told about being given a treasure. Don’t just sit on it. Leverage it, as my business buddy would
say. Multiply those loaves so you can
feed more than anyone thought possible.
There is no master plan here. Most early relationships do not begin with a
roadmap. In fact my intent to pursue
this relationship does not even have a destination. I have no clue what or where “there” is. But that does not matter. This is more mystery than anything else. To be in mystery with the Spirit is
sufficient for me. I am not in control
anyway. I can initiate, but not
control. I can respond in relationship
without regulating. I can experiment
without piling on expectations.
I call this gift relational
serendipity. I can only nurture it if I
am intentional, but open. Having said
that, I know it requires as much responsiveness from me as it does my
intentionality. The good news is I am
free going into it, as is the other person.
I am not looking for anything particular. But I am open to what unfolds. We both are part of the evolutionary work of
the Spirit. I want to see what
emerges. Emergence is the language of
how this Spirit lures us into the future with God and others.
Of course, now I am theologizing
about something that initially was simply an experience---and experience of
serendipity. I have turned this moment
of serendipity into something more comprehensive and global. But is that not the way God is at work in our
world? Usually divine serendipity occurs
and appears in apparently innocuous moments.
These can become serendipity moments and, in my case, the beginning of
relational serendipity
When grace comes, say yes and start
to enjoy the mystery of it all.
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