...who comes into a life...

In my reading of Robert Kegan I read this, "Who comes into a person's life may be the single greatest factor to what that life becomes."

We are not our selves all by ourselves. We are part of a moving river of relationships, moments, interactions and gifts.

I do not do 'New Year's resolutions' anymore, but if I did I might reaffirm that I want to be a person who adds life to every person I encounter. I don't see how this can be possible. Even in one day my way seems crowded with hoards.

A memory comes to me, though. I am at an airport. I am nervous about an upcoming ministry in a strange city. My eyes scan the crowd of faces, every single one a stranger. But in the scan I lock eyes on a man, an ordinary man, who in a second offers a smile that cuts across the room and lodges in my anxiety like a sugar cube dropped in a cup of coffee. The smile seeps out into my nervousness and I relax a bit. I go my way to the meeting.

Later I see that man again, from a distance. He is going through a door at the church which is my destination. He is the speaker for the men's group - we had not met before and had not seen pictures. We were never actually introduced. I don't remember his name. But if a moment like that can produce a radiant spot of peace in me, maybe we can radiate our love further than we imagine.