The People You Meet

Isn’t it amazing who God brings into your life?! 

Think about all the people who you’ve known or met thus far.  I’m sure the list is incredible!  I remember my grade school teachers, my high school teachers, my family members, youth group leaders, crushes, my good guy friends, my coaches, my teammates of various sports, best friends in all stages of life, my roommates, the group of friends I traveled with, camp counselors, etc.  The number of people seems so vast!

I think each person you meet is meaningful.  It may seem like a random encounter like at an event or a fleeting one like all you do is smile at them or maybe you know you’ll never see that person again in life, but it doesn’t matter.  I think what matters is what you do for that person and what you learn from that person. 

It doesn’t have to be earth shattering.  A simple smile can go a long way.  I think I’m realizing this more and more as I work in the hospital and visit patients and their family members who possibly going through a very tough time.  Another example is when I met a woman while in Cape Cod who was staying at the same place as me.  I knew I would never see her again but it didn’t stop her or me from sharing a little bit of our lives.  Come to find out, she was from Canada and I was actually looking at Dietitian jobs there at that time (very long story)!  We also enjoyed telling each other our adventures and great finds (i.e. best beach to see the sunrise).

You don’t have to have known them forever to see beauty in their life.  I met a girl literally tonight who was telling me how she was involved with her church’s residency program.  She told me about raising thousands of dollars to go to 11 countries in 11 months doing work with a company.  Very early on in the trip, her appendix burst!  She needed surgery and time to heal from infection and a parasite, so she had to come back to the States.  As you can see, this year was supposed to look A LOT different for her, but you wouldn’t have known her disappointment without her saying so because she was so very happy with where she was and how God had clearly arranged for her life to look the way it does right now.   She further explained other things God was doing in her life in such a way that made me feel like I had known her for years.  All of this makes me appreciate the infectious joy that God has given her and the willingness to let God take control of life even more.  This is challenging, to be sure, to see what God has done and is doing in my life as well as evaluate how much I don’t want to give up control in my life.

Sometimes, it’s a two-way street.  There’s a guy I don’t know that well but would like to get to know better since I believe he has a unique life story.  While talking one day, he said some things that made me stop and think, yet made me curious as to why he’d say what he did or just curious to know the whole story.  He has a very different perspective than me for many reasons.  I want to know it, but I don’t think he wants to share.  That is okay and definitely his choice; I'm not trying to pressure anyone.  Too bad for us both, though, I think.

Because maybe you need to share with someone to help them or positively influence them rather than the reverse.  Of course, you must be given the opportunity as the above example alludes to but you must also take advantage of the opportunity.  I remember debating on sharing details of my life with a guy because I didn’t know where things would go.  In the end, I figured that that was ridiculous and very selfish.  Who knows the impact of what I would say to him or how much he would need me to listen to him, encourage him, or give him asked for advice?

I know that finding out about such an impact doesn’t always happen but tonight it did.  He wrote me a sweet card, in which he stated how much he appreciated me helping him with his walk with the Lord, reminded me of how much people loved me, and how influential I was on the people around me.  Wow.

I can’t take credit.  I am who I am and act the way I act and say what I say because of Christ.  Granted, it’s not always elegant or perfect but by God’s grace it will be what someone else needs.  It is God who has changed me and works through me.

Looking back at who all have influenced me is awesome.  Looking for whom all I can influence is the adventure I’m on.