There’s a guy at my church named Tommy Thompson who runs a personal coaching and consulting business, among other things, and also sends out weekly encouragement emails. They are well written and wise. I look forward to getting them every week. The one I opened this morning was on the subject of the divine appointment, the belief that there are times in life where God orchestrates time and space in order to set us on a course of his choosing to introduce us to a specific person for some divine purpose. This is one of those areas where the physics baffles me but the concept rings true. Its happened to me plenty of times. Some random wrong turn to my day throws me in with someone I would never have encountered without the wrong turn...etc...etc.
His email got me thinking about something that happened to my wife recently. Over the last year or so she has had a random chatting relationship with an older man who stocks the shelves at her grocery store. It started with Pam saying hello and asking him how his day was going some random day. Over time, she would see him again and they would chat a bit. Soon she learned that the guy had experienced some devastating things, the suicide of one of his children and his wife leaving him for another man. When Pam learned that his last day at the store was coming up and he was moving to the Outer Banks and a fresh start, she decided to bake him some cookies and write him a note of encouragement as a going away gift. Anyway, when she gave him the cookies, the man was overcome by the gesture, bewildered by her kindness. And after this week, they will never see each other again.
This event along with Tommy’s email has me thinking about random encounters. What if Pam had never thought to speak to the guy that first day? Suppose she had been in a different place in the store the day it first happened? Suppose he had been sick that day and missed it? These are the type of thoughts that will drive you crazy if you dwell on them too long. But there is one thing of which I am convinced...you and I are surrounded by hurting people. We have no idea the crap people around us are dealing with. That guy who cut you off in traffic this morning (who may or may NOT have been me) may have just gotten a troubling diagnosis. That rude cashier may have just discovered that her husband has been cheating on her. You just never know. Maybe if we could live our lives with greater sensitivity, and sprinkle in more grace, we would be more aware of what others might be going through. Perhaps if our hearts were more tender, we would be more prepared to be a blessing to others, instead of plowing through life single-mindedly pursuing our own agendas.
Harder than it sounds, I know...but worth the effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment