Are there people you now realize you should have thanked more?

While attending college, I worked in the student union candy shop on Sunday afternoons. With few people around, I stocked candy jars and engaged with passing students.

A senior student bought some candy and enthusiastically launched into stories from her semester abroad in France. The next day, I visited the Study Abroad office for the following semester’s options. As I was putting myself through school, I was concerned I couldn’t afford it. I was relieved that it was nominally more expensive than my current tuition and board. Remember, this was many years ago. I just needed money for the airfare. With a summer waitress job in a diner, I was all set and went to the Netherlands for the semester.

I can’t recall her appearance or exact words, but this young woman affected my life with inspiration to travel abroad. Has an encounter with a stranger sparked your curiosity to explore something new? Perhaps someone you met on a bus, train, or plane. It’s remarkable how we disclose personal details to people we’ll likely never see again. Some conversations are meant to pass the time; others initiate an idea or compel us to a new road.

I wish I could tell her…but what I can do is to be that for someone else.

May the LORD reward you for what you have done! Ruth 2:12.

My husband, Roger, and I just returned from a trip to the Netherlands that included a visit with Tom, a fellow Dutch student, (sitting opposite of me) and his lovely wife, Agnes, (who is sitting next to me). It had been over 40 years since I saw Tom. We once thought marriage was our future, but that wasn’t meant to be. A lifetime ago. Despite all the trials of family, friends, and jobs, we shared how happy and grateful we are! What was especially “leuk”(the Dutch word for nice but exceptionally pleasant) is what Agnes said, “You could be my sister.” I so agree! We left feeling we would be dear friends if we lived next door.

I’d like to thank Ms. Study Abroad senior for that, too!

It is never to late to connect. Can we pick up a phone, write a letter, visit with someone from our past that may or mayn’t have ended peacefully? We can still let them know the good coming from the relationship.

Another follow-up thank you would be to a former minister, Doug, who passed away several years ago. I was going to leave my corporate job and go into the ministry. I invited him and his wife for dinner to discuss the recommendation he wanted to write for my master’s application. I was promoted to Vice President at Marriott food division the same day. The executive board consisted of eleven men and two women. I would be the third.

When I told Doug, he immediately replied, “You have to pursue that then!” I’ve always wondered, did he say that to “allow” me to go without guilt? Was it to help me defend a decision? I don’t know. But it has made a terrific difference in what I’m doing now. I learned valuable lessons in organizational/leadership/computer/writing skills, etc. I am thankful for the Lord’s detour and am now better prepared to answer my original calling by starting Seeds of Faith.

Has a mentor, friend, or family member help you with making a fork-in-the-road decision? And have we positively encouraged someone? We might never know how a conversation can take root, grow, and blossom in another.

As we prepare for Thanksgiving and the start of Advent, let’s remember those who’ve made a difference in our lives. If we still can, tell them how much they affected us. If not, let us pray for them and know they are in God’s Hands. If they have passed, we can thank God for their influence and honor the seed they planted.

I am thankful to you, my dear readers, for staying with me on this journey. I appreciate your thoughts and encouragement. I look forward to hearing your stories of fork-in-the-road decisions and how you came to a resolution or how a stranger affected your life. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!