It is staggering to think of the number of people that come into our lives. Some remain for a majority of our lives, some for only a short season, and others for just a brief moment. What I have learned is that no matter who they are and however long they stay in our lives, it is for a reason. The bigger picture to keep in mind is that all of these connections really play a vital part in shaping who we are. Entering a new relationship, starting up a new friendship, or adding to the family can really change the course of your life - hopefully for the good or sometimes the not so good. Either way, we can learn something from each of these encounters.
A majority of the time, common threads in who we have become can be traced back to our families. How many times have we said that we will never behave as our parents did only to find ourselves mimicking them? There are many times that I will say something or act a certain way and think how my dad used to do the same thing. The same could be said for me and my mom. Although there are differences in me and my two sisters, there are a lot of similarities between us - mostly for the good and some would say for the "good, but crazy." The truth is I am a very independent person and feel that I have evolved into who I am today because of my own searching and learning but I am also very aware that a lot of my design comes from my family.
Friendships also play such a strong part of our lives. If we were honest, some of our closest friends may know more about us than our own families. Over the course of our lives we may have different groups of friends. One might be a best friend one day and an enemy the next - and then back to a best friend. In high school, we believe that we will always be friends with our group but I do not believe I have kept in touch with anyone that I graduated with. However, they do have an impact on our lives. Today I consider myself very blessed to have a great group of really close friends. Genuine friendships should accept us for who we are - the good, bad, and ugly.
There are also those people that we only meet for a brief instance. It could be in passing at work, at church, shopping, or anywhere in our day-to-day life. These are actually the ones that intrigue me the most. I do not believe that we realize the impact we can have or the impact someone has on us in just a few minutes of interaction. It can brighten our day, make it worse, or change the direction of our day. This is where the bigger picture really comes in to play. If we could see our lives from above, we could see how all of these "strangers" actually connect us and possibly play larger roles in our lives than we realize.
My encouragement would be to not take any of our relationships for granted. They are here for a reason. Whether it is for a long part of our lives or only for a short time - do not think any of it is by chance. Learn from each of them and allow it to make you more of a better person and live a more enriched life.
Today I am grateful for: 1. A good day at work 2. Really good music on the way to work 3. Enjoying one of my weaknesses - McDonald's 4. Good conversation with a friend 5. All of the people that have influenced my life
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