Today I was blessed to have two new people come into my life, and as soon as we all sat down for lunch I knew there wasn’t anything accidental about our being introduced to one another. It was clear to me that these two amazing women, who I felt an instant bond of friendship with, were brought into my life for a reason, and hopefully I into theirs. And while only time can tell what those reasons are, I am already grateful they are now a part of my journey.

I am a firm believer in the fact that we don’t meet people by accident. I believe people cross our paths for a reason. I’ve seen it my entire life, so much so that I can’t deny that its true.

My family moved many times growing up to different states in the country and looking back I am able to see why each move was necessary to bring certain people into my life at different times. And as I would travel on airplanes I would find that the person who sat down next to me had some sort of impact on my life. I have gone to so many events where out of the thousands of people attending I would end up sitting next to the very person who would change my life in some form or fashion. After a while, you have enough of these types of experiences that you grow to appreciate that everyone you come in contact with is important to your life in some way, so you pay attention. You look for more opportunities to connect with new people and as you do your network begins to grow in ways you would never have imagined.

“It’s the friends we meet along the way that help us appreciate the journey.”

I wish I had kept a journal of every time I met someone new and the impact they ended up having on my life. Those stories would have blown your minds! And while I don’t have all the detail of everyone I’ve met and what they’ve done for my life written down, I can unequivocally share that each of those people I seemingly met by accident have blessed my life beyond measure. So much so, that I am positive there was nothing accidental about it…they were all brought to my life for a reason.

At times there are those people who come into our lives and the result is a negative experience, but I believe even those people were in our lives for a reason – and as we look back at our lives we are often able to see that it was meeting those people that led us to learn some of life’s greatest lessons.

Take every opportunity to meet new people and to look for the reasons you might have been brought into each other’s lives. Perhaps it is you who is meant to change their life, or perhaps it is they who will change yours…Either way it is worth taking the time to find out.

~Amy Rees Anderson