People



Like every child, I am not sure when I became conscious or aware of people. But I believe that as we all grow, we get to meet different people, beginning with family, Church and Sunday School, neighborhood kids, camps, schoolmates from nursery school, grade school, middle school, high school, college, internships - just name them.

Every stage of our lives offers us a unique opportunity to meet people - some good, some not-so-good. But we learn along the way that we cannot do away with people, and so we learn to live with people. In just the same way that I see you as part of people, so do you see me as part of people. There is nothing wrong about that. It is just the way it is. We are people after all.

Throughout my ministry, I have always been intrigued by some of the reactions of people whenever they attend any event. One of the first questions they ask is, “Where is everybody?” “What do people mean by 'Where is everybody?'” I would ask myself. 

I get the sense that when people ask this question, they are not dismissing the people who are already present; they may be wondering where their friends are, where the familiar faces are, or expecting to see a lot more people show up.

People like to see people. People like to meet other people. Seeing people makes you come alive. There is great value in seeing people - it reminds you that you are not alone. There is this sense of joy when you meet people, and that was how I felt when I recently met one of many people, a lady, on my way to London.

She approached me and asked if I was Ghanaian. I am sure she overheard me while I was on the phone and detected from my accent that I was likely to be a Ghanaian. And so, when she approached me and asked, I happily answered, offered her a chair, and then we began to chat.

It turned out that we were both on the same flight. But the strangest thing I learned about her was that she is my older sister’s goddaughter. What a coincidence!! These sorts of meetings rarely do occur. And if you are like me, where I tend to see life’s miracles at play, or what Providence might be revealing, you invite yourself into deeper reflection.

So, as we arrived in London, we chatted briefly by the baggage claim carousel, and then went our separate ways. A few days later, while walking on Oxford Street, I heard someone on the phone. Remember how she probably overheard me on the phone? Amidst the cacophony of noise and the milling crowd on Oxford Street, I heard a voice. It felt like a voice I have known for a long time, a familiar voice. I turned, and into my view came this same lady. She was talking and walking very fast.

I tried to catch up with her, but I couldn’t and I also didn’t want to shout her name because I didn’t think she would have heard me. So I made sure to get a picture of her, just to let her know that I saw her on the busy Oxford Street.

Again, if you are like me, where you tend to believe that each moment is miraculous, and where life invites you into a much deeper reflection about some of life’s daily occurrences, you wouldn’t shy away from thinking that something more than a mere coincidence happened.

A former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, once said, “When I pray. Coincidences happen. When I don’t, they don’t.” Coincidences do happen, but when they do, we are invited to think about why.

In finding out why, we avail ourselves to the school of thought that argues that everything happens for a reason, life is not random, and that Providence knows why certain things happen the way they do.

It was, therefore, based on this idea that I felt that I could connect my divorced cousin who lives in London with this lady just so they could explore what life had for them. People meet people, and people connect people with people because people believe in people, people value people, and people unconditionally love people because people do well when people think well of them.

People need people to lift them up when they are at their lowest. People need people - there’s no question about that.

Back to the story...

I spoke to my cousin about it, and he expressed great interest in connecting with her. I then spoke to the lady. She asked a few questions, requested his pictures, and then permitted me to share her contact information with him.

A few weeks thereafter, the lady shared with me that she wasn’t interested in changing her status. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but it appeared that I was quick in trying to ‘fix her,’ i.e., I assumed that she had a need and then took steps to fix that need for her. But in fact, she didn’t have a need. She was happy the way she was.

I apologized to her for attempting to fix a problem, for attempting to address a perceived need. I reminded her that my first pitch to her was that they should explore the possibility of what life has in store for them.

I have thought long and hard about the whole situation, and I have more than a few questions that I ask myself - whether it was appropriate to connect the two of them, or what I was hoping to see from the two of them.

On the surface, I may have been wrong. But on a deeper level, I think that the opportunity to explore what life had in store for them was totally misunderstood.

Again, people meet people. And when people meet people, people engage in an exploration; people engage with each other on a quest. A quest, if you will, doesn’t suggest a predetermined destination but an opportunity to be on life’s adventure with no destination in mind.

I am tempted to think that what people carry with them is the extent to which people have failed them. And so, to them, life doesn’t offer them any viable options other than retreads. But to limit ourselves to that kind of mindset is to deny ourselves, not only the opportunity we may be missing in life but the direction to which Providence may be pointing us.

I believe in people. I believe in the lady. I believe in my cousin. I believe. Not because everyone is good, but because people do well when people believe in them. More than that, there is some value that comes with meeting people, knowing people, and building relationships with people.

Oftentimes, that value only comes alive when we decide to begin a quest with people. It is within that quest that coincidences turn into answered prayers.

Get to know people, my friend.

Blessed Summer, 

Manny+