If I'm going to be perfectly honest, though, I can't really say that I don't believe in Providence, or Sacred Coincidences. In fact I can think of a few events in my life in which I would be dead without these Sacred Coincidences. To deny them or declare them mere happenstance would be almost sacrilegious to my being.
I couldn't utter the words, "I was just lucky," without feeling it a betrayal to God and myself. When moments pass through my mind in which I see the path that might have been, a cold chill settles over me which is then replaced by a feeling of immense gratitude. That gratitude is almost always directed towards God.
If I were completely consistent, I would deny these serendipitous moments possession of any intrinsic meaning.
Yet, I can't. It's impossible for me.
As I was thinking these things over, I couldn't help but think that everything may not happen for a reason, but that's not the same thing as saying that everything is meaningless. Meaning can be found in anything. However large or small a moment, however important or insignificant the times, there is always a place for finding purpose and meaning. It's not that God is causing A, B or C to happen, but that He is asking us what we will do with A, B, or C.
Maybe the best attitude to have is one of zen-like surrender, which doesn't fight against what is happening, but only seeks to react in a righteous way to it. Deep gratitude seems to well up in the hearts of those who understand the lack of control they have in a given situation. When you know you are at the mercy of Fate/God/Life/The Universe, and you surrender to whatever might be coming for you, you find the starting place for peace.
That sounds very Buddha-like... but it's no different than Paul learning to be content in all things or the lilies of the field being dressed by God. To worry about the "reasons" for some things is to lose a spiritual peace that is being offered to us.
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