This past Sunday we went to Orange City, Iowa to help Dylan move into the dorm for his sophomore year of college.
When we got to Northwestern and parked by Dylan’s dorm, I had a chance encounter with a friend. We were getting some things out of the trunk when all of a sudden I noticed someone coming up behind us, calling out a greeting.
I turned around and she was right there, with a huge smile on her face.
“Laura!” We laughed and hugged. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I was out for my walk and I just saw Gary and realized it was him and then I saw you!”
We chatted for a couple of minutes, and then we hugged again before she continued on her walk and we took Dylan’s things to his dorm. It brought a smile to my face every time I thought of our chance encounter.
How awesome is God to work out the timing so that we were parking in that exact spot right when Laura was walking by? A few minutes either way for either of us and we would have missed the chance to connect.
Laura and I hadn’t seen each other for about two years, but our meeting felt just as comfortable as if we had been getting together regularly (something we used to do when our family lived in Orange City for two years: walks around town, Bible studies, and activities at Maurice Reformed Church).
It got me thinking about all sorts of things.
We have to pay attention. If Laura had been walking with her head down, staring at the ground, she wouldn’t have seen Gary and then me. She would have walked right by and we wouldn’t have connected.
We have to act. When Laura saw Gary, she could have kept going, even if she had seen me. She could have thought we were too busy moving Dylan in and wouldn’t want to take time to talk to her. She could have just kept on walking by (I’m so glad she didn’t do that!).
We have to show emotion. Sure, I would have liked it if my friend had waited on the sidewalk and calmly said, “Hi Robyn” when we started heading to the dorm, but it was so much better to see her excitement and joy at seeing me. Our fun chance encounter filled my heart with so much joy (in the moment and every time I think of it even now).
What if we did a little more of those things every day? Pay attention, act, and show emotion.
At home, at school, at work, at church, around town, or wherever we are. Pay attention to the people around us. Act instead of just thinking about how much we appreciate and love others. Show emotion so our friends and family members know how much we love them.
Now that would make life pretty fun!
“We love because he [God] first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 NIV)
Do you enjoy chance encounters? How can focusing on God help you to make the most of every encounter you have?
I enjoyed your post…so true.
Thanks for the comment, Evelyn! So encouraging to know a post resonated with someone. Good to hear from you! ~Robyn