Often in the journey of vocational discernment there can be a tendency to not let God guide our life, either because of fear or because we are too attached to our own will. So, here is a luminous story about the importance of putting our trust in God, letting Him guide us:
On a warm late summer evening, a young man went to a wise old man: “Teacher, how can I be sure that I’m spending my life well? How can I be sure that everything I do is what God is calling me to do?”
The wise old man smiled and said: “One night I went to bed with a troubled heart. Also I searched – uselessly – for a response to these questions. Then I had a dream. I dreamed about a bike with two seats. I saw that my life was like this bike with two seats: a tandem. I also noted that Good was behind me and helped me to pedal. The nit happened that God suggested to change places with me. I agreed, and from that moment on my life was never the same. God made my life more happy and exciting. What happened when we changed places? I understood that when I was leading, I knew the way. It was rather boring and predictable. It was always the shortest distance between two points. But when I started to let God lead, He knew beautiful shortcuts, up mountains, through rocky places at breakneck speed. All I could do was keep riding! Even though it seemed crazy, He continued to say “Pedal, pedal!” I got worried every now and then, and I would get anxious, asking: “Lord, where are you taking me?” He just smiled and didn’t answer. However, I don’t know how, but I began to trust Him. I soon forgot about my boring life and entered into the adventure, and when I said: “Lord, I’m afraid…”, He leaned back and touched my hand, and immediately the fear was substituted for an immense serenity. He took me to people with gifts that I needed; gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me their gifts to bring with me along the journey. (It’s worth saying “our” journey – that is – God’s and mine.) And then we left them. He said to me; “Give away those gifts, they are extra luggage, too much weight.” So, I gave them to the people that we encountered, and I found that in giving them away, it was I who received, and our load was still light. At first I did not trust in Him to guide my life. I thought that it would have led to disaster. But He knew the secrets of the bicycle, He knew how to angle it to negotiate tight curves, how to make it jump to avoid places full of rocks, the fly to shorten frightening paths. And I’m learning to stay quiet and pedal through strange places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful travel partner, my higher power. And when I am certain I cannot go on any longer, her just smiles and says: “Don’t worry. I’ll steer. You pedal!”