Understanding: Seems So Simple

Understanding. Seems so simple. For instance, I either understand that 2+2=4 or I don’t.

We understand the sky is blue and that we need oxygen to survive. Right? Yes and no.

While this makes sense in the physical world, it may not always be so cut-and-dried in the spiritual realm.

Understanding sometimes requires us to have faith and know that our highest good is unfolding, despite what we may experience with our physical senses.

It’s trusting the light will once again be found, even in what may appear to be the darkest of tunnels.

Growing up, I remember hearing the infamous words, “Life isn’t meant to be fair.” As an adult, I realize that statement isn’t at all accurate. Life is, instead, more of an understanding. It is more of a knowing that all is unfolding for our highest good.

My first career often left me drained. Working a corporate job had me staring at my cubicle walls, wondering how quickly the day would end. I’d stare out the window wishing I were somewhere, anywhere, other than there.

It wasn’t my idea of fun, and I somehow always knew it wasn’t where I was meant to spend my time. I often felt frustrated because my attempts to leave the corporate world never seemed to quite work out.

I remember praying a great deal, but it seemed as if those prayers were just meaningless thoughts, feelings, and words because nothing appeared to be changing.

I remember discussing my frustrations with my mother, who reminded me of Proverbs 3:5 (KJV): “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” I had no idea my prayers—despite physical appearances—were being answered beyond anything I could begin to imagine!

Trust and Know

Fast-forward a few years and it all began to unfold in an amazing, beautiful way. Spirit guided me to Unity. What feelings of zeal, joy, and enthusiasm I felt the first time I walked through those doors!

I began to understand what others meant when they used the expression “coming home.” I began to feel Spirit was guiding me to something much greater than I had ever imagined. I wasn’t sure how at the time, but I knew that Unity was going to play a very large role in my life.

I wasn’t yet ready for what Spirit had in mind. I had to learn, to expand and grow.

That verse from Proverbs 3:5 came back into my mind, and I knew deep in the core of my being that I somehow needed to trust and to know. I needed to lean not into my own understanding.

That was almost 10 years ago, and here I am sitting in my very own church office. I was ordained a Unity minister in June 2019, and now I’m the senior minister at Unity of Madison in Wisconsin.

Your Highest Good

I didn’t understand for a long time why it seemed Spirit was ignoring my prayers, but looking back, it makes perfect sense. I wasn’t yet ready for what Spirit had in mind. I had to learn, to expand and grow. I had to walk a spiritual path I would not have been ready for when I first decided I didn’t want to remain in corporate America.

The corporate world and those gray cubicle walls are now behind me, and I am able to remember them fondly with love and gratitude. I didn’t know it at the time, but they were as much a part of my higher good as Unity would one day become. If not for that experience, I likely would not be where I am today.

You see, spiritual understanding isn’t always the same as understanding that the sky is blue or 2+2=4. It’s knowing and trusting that your highest good is unfolding despite outer circumstances. It’s knowing and trusting that the path before you will lead you to a destination far more beautiful than you ever dared to imagine.