chance encounters

My mother is the kind of person who likes to chat with strangers. The opportunity to do this presents itself quite frequently, most often while waiting in check-out lines at stores. I was often embarrassed by this as a child, but nevertheless have found that I do the same thing, which embarrasses my children (I also greet the store clerks by name; my children grew up thinking I knew everyone in the world).

This practice has led to my meeting some very lovely people and having some very sweet experiences. The day before Thanksgiving 30+ years ago I was in a very long line at the grocery store. A lady and her beautiful little girl were waiting also and we struck up a conversation. The little girl was actually her foster daughter. They had been together several years and it was obvious that they loved each other very much. This was going to be a very special Thanksgiving for them because the courts had just determined the little girl was now up for adoption into a family. She whispered to me out of earshot of the little girl, “Tomorrow we are telling her that we are the family that is adopting her!” I thought of them the next day, as I have many times since. What a wonderful Thanksgiving that was for that family, dreams coming true, lives forever changed, wonderful possibilities opening up for them for years and generations to come. I was very grateful to have heard their story, for indeed, there is much to be grateful for in this world.

Over the years I have come to wonder if what I call chance encounters aren’t really chance at all, for so often I meet just the person or hear just the story, or have just the sweet experience I need at the time. There was the gentleman I met walking to work one day 30+ years ago, the lady I met on a plane 2 years ago, and countless others whose lives have crossed mine for only a brief moment but have left an impact to last a lifetime. Perhaps these chance encounters are really tender mercies from the Lord, to remind me that He is mindful of each of us. Talk to a stranger today!