NOT DENIED, JUST REDIRECTED! DR. SUPRIYA SHUKLA

NOT DENIED, JUST REDIRECTED!

Dr. Supriya Shukla 

The suitcases were packed, tags neatly fastened, and passports carefully placed on the table—ready to be picked up at a moment’s notice.There was a quiet excitement in the air, the kind that lingers on the eve of a long-awaited journey. For Ayra and her family, this was not just a vacation; it was a dream woven over months of planning, anticipation, and shared joy.

Late into the night, they spoke of distant places—the romance of Paris, the serenity of the Alps, the charm of cobbled streets waiting to be explored. Sleep came reluctantly, interrupted by thoughts already travelling far ahead of them.

And then, just as dawn broke, the phone rang. The message it carried was brief, yet devastating. A loved one was critically ill. In an instant, the excitement dissolved into urgency. The carefully planned itinerary lay forgotten as a more pressing reality took hold. Within hours, tickets were cancelled, bags unpacked, and the journey redirected—not toward a foreign land, but toward a hospital room filled with uncertainty. At that moment, it felt like everything had fallen apart.

Gathered around their ailing relative, offering care and comfort, a realisation began to dawn. Had they been thousands of miles away, they would have been consumed with anxiety and helplessness.Their presence, at that critical hour, was not just necessary—it was invaluable. What had seemed like an unfortunate disruption now appeared as a quiet act of Grace.

It is in such moments that  the age-old maxim Man proposes , God disposes flashes across our minds.

However, we do understand what William Cowper seemed to echo with renewed meaning: “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” What we had seen as loss was, in truth, protection. What felt like denial was, perhaps, a form of divine guidance. Such moments are not rare; they are simply overlooked.

How often have we faced rejection—an opportunity slipping away, a door closing just when we hoped it would open? At the time, it feels like failure. We question our efforts, our decisions, even our worth. Yet, with the passage of time, many such disappointments reveal an unexpected kindness.

A student who does not gain admission to a desired institution may later find a place better suited to his / her growth. A missed opportunity may quietly steer someone toward a path far more fulfilling. There are even instances where a delayed journey or a missed flight becomes, in hindsight, a narrow escape from perilous disaster.These are not mere coincidences; they are gentle reminders that our vision is limited, while the design of life is not.

And yet, this does not mean that we stop planning or striving. On the contrary, life demands our effort. 

To propose , to dream, to act, to aspire—is an essential part of being human. Plans give direction to our lives; they reflect our hopes and our determination. But perhaps the lesson lies not in abandoning plans, but in loosening our grip on them.

There is a quiet wisdom in the old proverb, “Man plans, and God laughs.” It is not a mockery of human effort, but a gentle reminder of its limits. It tells us that while we may draw the map, we cannot always predict the terrain. And sometimes, the detours lead us to landscapes far more beautiful than those we had imagined.

Faith, then, becomes a steady companion in this journey—not blind belief, but a quiet trust that there is meaning even in disruption. 

It is this understanding that while we are responsible for our actions, we are not the sole authors of outcomes.This awareness does not weaken us; instead, it brings a certain peace. It allows us to accept life’s uncertainties without losing heart. Gradually, we begin to see that what we once called setbacks are often redirections.The path changes, but the journey continues—sometimes toward a destination we did not choose, yet deeply needed.

Looking back, it is rarely our perfectly executed plans that shape us the most. It is the unexpected turns, the pauses, the moments when life refuses to go as intended. In those moments, something within us shifts—we learn patience, resilience, and above all, trust.

Perhaps, then, the maxim needs to be understood differently. God does not “dispose” in the sense of discarding our efforts. He refines them, redirects them, and sometimes replaces them with something far more meaningful.

 This awareness does not weaken us; instead, it brings a certain peace. It allows us to accept life’s uncertainties without losing heart.

 

And so, the next time our plans falter, instead of seeing it as an end, we might pause and wonder: what unseen path is opening before us?

For in the quiet, often painful unraveling of our plans lies a truth we come to understand only with time—that we were never abandoned, only redirected… never denied, only protected. And one day, when we look back through the trajectory of our lives, we realise with a full and grateful heart that what did not happen saved us, what was taken away shaped us, and what remained was exactly what we were meant to hold on to.

The Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore 's words come to mind as he  rightly said: 

" Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."

(Dr Supriya Shukla is a gold medalist in English and a doctorate holder, and a retired Principal and former Head of the Department of English at VSSD College, Kanpur. A freelance writer and blogger empanelled with eThe Times of India and The Sentinel, her work appears in national and international journals. She is also an Advisory Board member of LitStream and a regular contributor)