Man Makes Plans but God Directs His Ways

My husband and I met Renee at church several months ago back in November. After learning we were new to the area she copied my phone number and said she'd be in touch. She reached out to me on several occasions but we were always busy. I would have given up but she didn't and I'm so grateful for that. Four months later, she invited us to a potluck lunch where we met several people whom we now regularly associate with. 

As we were leaving the potluck, I noticed an elderly gentleman named Ron. I overheard him say that he was middle school teacher for most of his life and also coached basketball. He’s been a musician for many years and still performs bass in a local orchestra. After over 60 years of marriage, he recently lost his wife to Parkinson’s and then suffered a mild stroke in December of 2015. Amidst such affliction I was struck by this gentleman’s peaceful acceptance of his situation, articulate manner and joyful attitude. I told myself I would reach out to him the first opportunity I had.

Months went by and our paths never seemed to cross. One Sunday in June I turned around and there he was. I told him I remembered him from the potluck and wanted him to join us for dinner sometime. He gave me his phone number and I promised to be in touch.

When I invited him over for dinner he asked if it would be okay if he brought a few photos of his late wife. He carried a plastic Walmart bag containing some framed photos along with a couple of black and whites which he placed most gingerly on his lap during the car ride. As I handled one of the pictures I noticed his wife’s date of birth was written on the back. She was born the same year as Ron but also the same year as my dad. I learned that both he and my dad served in the Korean War and were recruited via R.O.T.C. but in different capacities. I shared this information with my dad who lives in California. I would have never predicted it, but my dad was so intrigued by their commonality that he asked for Ron’s phone number. So far now, they’ve chatted at length on a few occasions now and both Ron and my dad have told me how much they’ve enjoyed their chats.

Such unusual circumstances for this newfound friendship between two 80-something year old men who met over the phone and have corresponded for at least 2 or 3 hours within the course of a couple of months. Last week Ron left me the sweetest voicemail telling me how profoundly his friendship with me, my husband and now my dad has helped him through a particularly difficult time in his life. 

I can’t help but marvel at this curious but wonderful plot twist all stemming from one woman's persistent kindness towards me. She was the direct cause of my meeting Ron and the indirect cause of Ron’s friendship with my dad. Funny thing is, Ron thinks he’s the one whose come out with the bigger end of the stick in our friendship. But in reality I'm the one who's been blessed by him. Ron is such a thoughtful and considerate man with such a positive outlook. He's been a runner much of his life and was even involved in a Walt Disney film which was filmed in my area where he did some voice-overs and helped with the sound. Soon he and my dad are going to meet in person when my parents come to visit. I'm humbled by the goodness of God in orchestrating these friendships and am grateful to have had some small role in it.

                                                            

Through my friendship with Ron I’ve come to realize and appreciate that the effects of kindness are seldom measurable or in this case, predictable. The irony is I thought I was being kind to Ron but have discovered, no-God was being kind to Ron and my dad through me. I was just privileged to have been used to achieve this end. How cool is that? As a bonus, I have experienced Renee's kindness which has led to our having met a bunch of wonderful new friends and have been able to help foster a budding new friendship between two Korean War veterans. It's a rare privilege that we can actually witness the effects of our kindness. But to experience the satisfaction of a mere glimpse of it is both humbling and joyous.