Kismet

Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.—Lemony Snicket


So many things in life defy explanation: we wind up in a place we never expected (or wanted) to, discover it is a perfect fit and decide to stay. We think we need a certain job, try like crazy to land it and fail—only to realize later that it would have been a horrible mistake. Or we meet someone, out of the blue, only to discover that we have known each other forever.

Fate, we say. It must be fate. It was simply “meant to be.”

There is an ancient Turkish word that also means “fate,” or “lot in life”: kismet. And that word comes from an even older Aramaic word that means, “He divides.” In life, each of us receives our lot or portion; yet before the dividing, we all were children of one Creator. Each of us has “that little bit of God” within us that desires, more than anything, to be reunited with “that little bit of God” within others. No longer divided, but reconnected in and through the One who created all things and people. Kismet, or fate, becomes that which restores us to wholeness. It cannot be explained, but should simply be honored as loving mystery.

As we continue our Holy Week journey, pause and reflect on the “kismet moments” in your life.



Monday Pray for the lonely in our midst. (Is it you this morning?) Reach out. 
Psalm 68:4-6

Tuesday Pause today and reflect on a time when you felt isolated or alone, and a stranger reached out. How can you go and do likewise? (What is holding you back?) Joshua 1:5

Wednesday Meditate on what it means to be “in the world, but not of the world.” Reflect on how you live, and the ways in which you cross over. (Where are you most comfortable?) 
Romans 12:1-2

Thursday (Maundy Thursday) Has there been a time in your life when you prayed that something that appeared inescapable in your life would be taken from you? How did it end? In retrospect, can you give thanks? 
John 15:12-17

Friday (Good Friday) It can be so tempting to skip right past Good Friday as we ponder Jesus’ last days and long for the promise and perfection Easter offers. Pause today and meditate on what makes Good Friday, good. (There is no one right answer.) Thank God. 
Mark 15:33-39

Saturday (Holy Saturday) As you revisit these tellings of Jesus’ last days, reflect on where you find yourself in the story. Have you fled with the disciples? Denied like Peter? (Again, no one right answer.) How has this framed your faith journey? 
Luke 23:32-43

Sunday (Easter) Sing! Choose a song of celebration, not necessarily a “church song,” and rejoice. 
Psalm 147



There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be. –John Lennon

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