So, walking back to my dorm, I ran into my good friend Randi who waved from across the street. After I waved back, I got to thinking: What are the chances that in a college of what feels like a billion people, we would pass each other at this moment? This opened a whole new door for me: every tiny decision leads somewhere. For example, we will take this moment. In order for me to be on that street at exactly the time I was, several things had to happen.
We will start working backwards. The closest thing that lead me to that street at that time was my walk speed. I am typically a slow walker, but tonight I was actually walking quite fast, as I was exhausted from work and wanted to get home. This is not quite so special... walk speeds vary. Heck, my "fast exhausted" speed may well be my normal slow speed (I haven't timed them... I will have to do that tomorrow).
But before I began walking, I ride a bus back from work. Typically the bus is crowded, and the stops are frequent, causing the bus to go slower than a snail riding molasses. (Exaggeration) Today, however I got on and found only one other person on. He was going to the university as well, and we never had to pick anyone up on our way. I must say that it was by far the fastest bus ride home I have ever ridden.
With this, I actually almost missed the bus. I was staying after, finishing up the work that was left. By the time I got off, I had to sprint to the bus stop, and I barely caught it. Now, back in High School I was a long distance runner, and I doubt I would have caught the bus if I hadn't been trained to run fast over long distances. But that is jumping far back in time.
The reason I was even out tonight was because of my work. And the reason I was on that bus is the precise job I got. So, three months ago (or really anytime before tonight) I had to be hired for this job first. This job requires math, so I would have had to refine my math skills in high school and like math enough to seek out a job specifically in math like I did. And it was only because God gave me a gift in math that either of those actually happened.
I won't go into specifics on the rest, but basically I would have had to meet Randi previously for her to not be a stranger (not much to an extrovert, but a pretty big deal to an introvert like me), and that would also include all the events leading up to us becoming friends. I would have had to come to this university. I would have to live in the dorm I do, not be going anywhere else right after work, not loose my way to the dorm (I'm absent minded, alright? 'specially when exhausted.), be listening to the music I was setting my pace to, and be paying enough attention to notice her wave from across the street. Heck, I even had to be born for this to happen, and that was a result of my parents' decisions. So 20 years ago, (and I could take it back even further) decisions were made that effected this precise moment tonight. And that is just what had to happen to get me there. What had to happen to get her there as well?
It's all good when we think about it in the terms of one instance like this, but I imagine I would go crazy if I lived thinking of the billion of different paths every moment in my life could lead me down. Not really sure I have that much processing memory. But, this doesn't mean I can't take a lesson away from these thoughts. And eventually what I realized is that every action in life should be deliberate, as generally it has impacts on events to come even decades down the road.
So Lord, this is my prayer. That I may be deliberate in my actions to follow your plan, as you only want what is best for me, and my actions today affect tomorrow. The road may not always be easy, but one major stray can cause pain years down the road, not just to me, but to the community around me.
St. Andrew, pray for us.
βεπ out.
