Oyasama once said:
“If you do such a thing God shall withdraw.”
Anecdotes of Oyasama, no. 73
Apparently, there is a Yiddish proverb that says, “Man plans and God laughs.”
We humans do our calculations and make our plans based on what suits our convenience. We then try to carry them out. However, these plans could well be totally at variance with God’s plan—in which case God might be having a good laugh as we strive to implement our plans.
Even if we put our heart and soul into doing something that we are convinced is good, it will come to naught if it is not in accordance with the divine intention. We need to remember that there is such a thing as God’s intention, which we may not understand fully.
If our intentions are selfish and based on greed or a personal grudge, we are much less likely to succeed in what we set out to do. God will stand firmly against us, because leaving us to our own devices in this case would be to let us put ourselves in harm’s way. God will urge us to change our plan, even if this means some pain for us. “This way, this way,” God is trying to steer us in a safer direction. We may go through agony and think that God is frightening. We may even accuse God of being heartless and uncaring.
After struggling with pain and confusion, we may eventually let go of our stubbornness and decide to accept God’s intention, realizing that we have no alternative but to do so. Then, suddenly, a new path opens up in the now thinning mist. “This is what Oyasama wanted me to experience all along,” we now realize. Although we may previously have thought of God as being cold and heartless, we now feel overwhelmed by the warmth of God the Parent. God’s parental love is something we can only savor after we commit ourselves to living in accordance with God’s intention.
When we find ourselves at a crossroads, we can think about which way Oyasama would want us to go. After all, we would certainly be better off going along with Her wishes.