I once had a friend in college….we were only friends for a short amount of time……but through our relationship and the things we did together…it eventually lead me to meet my wife. After I left college I have never spoken to him again. Without him there in that one moment, that series of events that lead me to a baseball game in Ohio would have never taken place.
I believe, very deeply, that God places people in our lives for a reason…not by chance. Each relationship you have with another person is there to get you to where you are supposed to be or to help teach us a lesson that God wants us to learn. Those people are either there to open doors in our lives, or they are there to close doors we aren’t supposed to walk through.
It’s almost nearly impossible to see those people for who they may later become…..when we originally meet them. But as you look back on how your life has progressed, you can point to certain events that those people were a part of….certain times when they helped you get through a tough time or helped put you on a path you didn’t even know existed.
For example….through some ventures outside of my day-to-day job, I have come across people in other cities and states, that otherwise I would have never met. People that have become close friends and people who have led me, to what I believe, is one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place. Right now, heavy on my heart….is a couple that I met just under a year ago….we met for only one day (but have continued to have contact with via social media.) I don’t think I could be more certain that they were placed in my life for a reason…to lead me to do something greater with my life…..something God may be calling me to do.
Some may say that its easy to look back on circumstances and make them fit into what you may “want” to happen…..but I just don’t believe that. I have such a strong faith these days that God’s purpose for my life, and those around me is far greater than just me piecing together a bunch of “coincidences.”
God knew who we would be and what we would do before time began…..so I just don’t see it as coincidental that these people, placed in our lives, just happened to fall into God’s plan. Could you imagine watching Star Wars, and out of no where Iron Man just stumbles onto the Millenium Falcon? God doesn’t work like that. God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you (Jeremiah 1:5.)”
He knew all of us….He knew how all of our lives would intertwine to achieve His master plan. So what effect could you be having on someone’s life? Think about it for a minute. Everything you do affects every person you have contact with in either a positive way or a negative way. Are you helping those around you grow into their potential, or are you assisting the devil in crushing their dreams?
As far as all of the people I have met within the past year…..their acts of kindness and acceptance have put into motion something that I can’t even possibly know the outcome. But what I do know is that these people haven’t been placed into my life by coincidence, but by the Grace of God, ultimately to fulfill His plans for my life.
I pray that you may find those people who are propelling you to greatness, either knowingly or unknowingly….I pray that you are the light in someone else’s life as well……That the affect you are having on someone else is as powerful as the people who are pushing me towards the unknown.
Tetelestai 