Our lives intersect one another every day. This may seem random and unplanned. I'm growing to understand, however, that these intersections are a lot less haphazard than I had previously thought.
A woman, I’ll call her Jane, recently heard me speak and came only because a friend had pursued her. Jane’s life was chaotic and painful. As she watched one of the most important people in her life suffer from cancer, dealt with her husband’s health problems and handled the normal yet chaotic lives of 4 teenage children, she was at the end of her rope.
The previous week she had ordered a mixer with the intention of hiding fruits and vegetables in her family’s diet by consuming delicious tasting smoothies. After the infomercial was done and the credit card number given, Jane hadn’t given it another thought. Her friend’s cancer was in its final days. Jane's depression threatened to take her under.
And then Jane’s co-worker asked her again to come hear me speak. Intersection #1.
My own battle with depression taught me that our physical health is just as important as our mental health in treating this disease. At one time my sister’s innocent question intersected my life and changed it forever for the good. She had simply asked, ‘if we put gas in a car to make it run, what makes us think we can eat any old thing and have our bodies run?’
I told my audience that what they eat affects every part of their life. Those words resonated with Jane. Intersection #2.
Her mixer showed up that day. She made smoothies for breakfast and lunch. This is what she told me:
After one week, I can’t believe how much better I am feeling already. I have less cravings for sugar, WAY more energy, a better attitude, am sleeping better and have more capacity to deal with my stress at home. I have also lost 4 pounds. Seriously, I can’t quite believe it. It seems unreal that one week can make so much of a change. I am looking forward to seeing what this will do for me and my family over a longer period of time.
Our lives intersected and there was a change of direction. It may seem that the events of her life had nothing to do with mine. My story had taken 35 years to unfold and here I was in this moment sharing what I knew to be true. But is this a coincidence? Was it my willingness to share, her willingness to come or some larger cosmic orchestration? It’s exciting to believe in a large grand plan which allows strangers lives to collide and change us in a positive way.
I want to be intentional about seeing those intersections. Ask yourself these questions. Who will I meet today? What will I hear? Who will I influence? What will I say? Where am I on the big chess board of life?
I want to be a positive force to others. I want to play by the master’s rules and be a pawn in this grand scheme.