This past weekend, I went down to my former college Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC )to my fraternity’s Founder’s Day. It was a great weekend of catching up with friends. This weekend really got me thinking about how God has a way of putting people in our lives at the right time.
Sometimes it starts right from the time we are born. If I had been born to any other parents, things would have been very different. They never told me I couldn’t do something; they let me try first. Then there are the teachers, like my high school agriculture teacher, who took a chance on me and pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone. I think sometimes the most important people God places in our lives are our friends. I do not think people realize just how much of a difference being a friend to someone can make.
I had friends growing up, I had some good friends in high school for sure, but the friends I made in college, were some of the best. Like I said in my post entitled “Your Time Will Come”, during my time at ABAC, I felt more accepted by my peers than ever before. I had no idea what people would think of me when I moved off to college. The fact that I made fast friends, both in my fraternity and outside of it, who saw past my disability, made a huge difference. Having a group of people behind me who truly accepted me gave me the confidence to pursue a lot of opportunities for myself. Because they didn’t give me any special treatment, others saw that and did the same.
Life is tough people; there is no way around that. There are a lot of hateful people out there who find satisfaction in making others feel bad about themselves; there are arrogant people who will see you as beneath them, and there are a lot of people who are just plain ignorant. Throughout my life, I have dealt with all of these types of people. I learned that with some people no matter what my achievements are, no matter what degrees I have, or how intelligent I am, some people won’t be able to see someone like me as an equal. That’s unfortunate, but it is just the way it is.
Because it is this way, God blesses us with good people in our lives. I think he knows we need a support system to build us up when others are trying to tear us down. Take time to thank him for the people he’s blessed you with and take the time to maintain those relationships that mean the most to you.