Something I think alot about lately is the way that people are connected, and how the people that are placed in our lives are not coincidence. I believe in fate. I believe in meant to be. I believe that our lives are guided by a higher power, and therefore I don't ever fear the unknown. Because it may be unknown to me, but it is completely clear to an all-Knowing God. Lately my life is always colliding in strange ways with people that have had a distinct and meaningful impact on me, and each of these people holds things in their heart that I need. And I think for some reason, they need me too.
Last weekend we had a music education workshop at school, and the speaker Brother Mac said:
"We are always affecting people even in ways that we cannot control." And I was like AMEN Big Mac, thats what I think about ALL the time!!! People are affected by everything we do, and we don't even know the effect we are having!!!
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”-Goeth.
This power to influence for good is what i love about being a teacher. I really like this song by Natasha Bedingfield called "Touch". It talks about how random happenings in our life lead us to people. Here's the lyrics:
I was tryin' to cross the street
When I tripped and spilled my coffee
On a man who yelled at me
And then walked off in a hurry
Now he's gonna be late for work
So he called his secretary
Said to cancel his appointment with the guy in the lobby...
Who's been waiting for a while
And talking on the phone
Got invited to a party and thought he couldn't go
But he's here right now
Standing in my house
And someone turns the music loud
So we dance
And we laugh
And we touch
I was planning out my party
Running errands 'round the city
Gorcery bags full of drinks
And chocolate chip cookies
Saw a dress that was amazing
In the window of a boutique
So I went across the street
Then my heel broke and it threw me
I tried to catch my balance
But I was 'sposed to fall
It seems that spilling coffee
Was no accident at all
Cuz you're here right now
Sitting on my couch
Funny how it all works out
Every choice we make
And every road we take
Every interaction
Starts a chain reaction
We're noth affected when we least expect it
And then when we touched
And it all connected
Ok so Natasha's story is about some dream man that she ended up meeting at her party just because she spilled her coffee on some other guy while she was out. But seriously what if every time we tripped or took a wrong turn or dialed a wrong number, it was for a reason!? I knew some missionaries in HK that called some random number in their old area book, and they dialed the number wrong, got some lady on the phone, scheduled her for an appointment and then she ended up getting baptised. My best friend Lydnsi Shae and I met randomly at a friends wedding that we both happened to go to, and after that she just had this feeling like she should set me up with one of her friends. A week ago I happened to text my friend Ken that I haven't talked to in awhile and invite him over right when he was goin' through some rough stuff. He came over to talk and said "its just really strange that you texted me on THAT day" and I was like 'NO it's not! I don't believe in coincidence." And he and I were kinda goin through the same struggles......and we laughed it off togehter!!! I love how God brings people together!
I'm thankful for all of the people that just haphazardly cross paths into my life and have 'touched' my heart lately.
