Throughout my lifetime, I have had the pleasure of meeting people — lots of people. I’ve met them in my neighborhood, in schools I’ve attended, in workplaces, at parties or other social events, in coffee shops, in my travels around the world, and in my day-to-day comings and goings. I cannot pinpoint exactly when it happened, but at some point in my life, I began to realize that these seemingly random meetings were anything but random.

I was thinking about how to explain this viewpoint to readers when I came to the realization that no explanation is necessary. Certainly, I am not the only person who has had this insight. Recognizing the significance of seemingly insignificant encounters with others is a universal experience. Still, I am fascinated by it.

During my elementary and high school years, I met a number of individuals who are still very much a part of my life today. One person in particular, who I met on July 31, 1971, had a major role in the career path I followed in life. In the summer of 1972, while working a summer job at a fast food restaurant, I met someone whose friendship I have cherished for more than fifty years. In 1977, I was blessed to have a professor at Santa Clara University who made a positive impact on my life, and with whom I am still in contact today. For the past several weeks, I have had the privilege of collaborating with one of my former students who I taught back in 1982. He is now the principal of a Catholic elementary school in San José. He invited me to work with him and his vice principal to plan a faculty/staff retreat which focused on the theme of gratitude. The retreat was held in Santa Cruz this past Wednesday.

Just last night, I received an email from a guy I met about 35 years ago when he was actively involved in the young adult ministry program at Saint Lawrence Parish in Santa Clara. (I intentionally set him up to work with a young woman as a small-group retreat leader on a Confirmation retreat… an experience which, in time, led to their decision to marry!) I haven’t seen Joseph, nor his wife, Jo-Ann, in many years, as they moved to North Carolina for Joseph’s job. We’re getting together for breakfast on Monday morning.

When we meet someone, we just never know what impact they might have on our life, or how we might affect theirs.

At the faculty/staff retreat this past Wednesday, two members of the school staff turned out to be former students of mine from Saint Lawrence Academy — and they didn’t know each other, as one of them was recently hired. One had graduated in 1987, the other in 2016. It’s a small world.

Those who know me are well aware that I’m fairly outgoing. I love meeting people. I enjoy hearing the life stories, dreams, ambitions, and accomplishments of people’s lives. Kathy once told someone that I could “carry on a conversation with a fire hydrant.” While I understand what she was saying, that’s a bit of a stretch. I prefer two-way communication rather than monologues with inanimate objects!

The quote above, by Susanna Kearsley, is a reminder to us all that every person we meet, even those we might perceive as being difficult at times, have come into our lives for a reason. Perhaps it might be worth the effort to reflect on our relationships with friends and acquaintances and to give mindful consideration to what that reason might be.