Two people I care about, people who are in very different spots in their lives, have expressed similar sadness recently. One is a young woman moving into adulthood. The other is an "old guy" moving into a quieter time of his life. Both say with a sense of desperation, "I don't know where I fit in this world." The younger woman expresses this with a suicidal kind of angst. The older man is more angry that this should continue to trouble him at this age and stage.
I think that most of us have at least fleeting questions of where "we fit in this world" especially at times of decisions, change and stages in our lives. But I think that most of us just sort of bump along and really don't spend much time considering "our fit." We make decisions without much concern of our place in the world. We try to hang on to what we have or grasp at what we think we need.
But the desperation with which my two friends struggle gives me pause. Their struggle seems noble --worth considering. Their hands seem empty and open...searching and reaching for compassion and consolation. And then there was this quote in my morning reading, "That is also the reason why it is always the people with empty hands, the hungry and thirsty, and the confused who are called blessed... After all, it is usually only empty hands that are outstretched. And outstretched hands are the only ones God can clasp."
Are my hands empty so God can clasp them---or are they closed tightly trying to hold on to what I think I possess? Your hands?
Blessings-Penny
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