April 4, 2023
“As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else.”
– Maya Angelou
Joe’s new friend Ann tells him a joke every time he sees her. At 95 years old, she could do standup comedy. She’s been on her own since her husband died 13 years ago. She’s always rushing off to some adventure, including the exercise class she leads at the Senior Center. She’s perpetually upbeat.
Before Mass, while he was sitting in the pew, saying his prayers, she walked up behind him, handed him a paper bag and said, “This is for you.” It was a vintage cribbage board that she and her late husband played on for years.
At Christmas, she sent him an email that said, “So, my friend, I always like to say I met five new people that I really like in 2022, and you are on the list. I hope I can replace the ones I lost during 2022 with five new friends. … Keep it simple. Ms. Ann”
What a great goal for the new year — meeting new friends. But very often it’s harder than it sounds, especially if you are grieving. Ann had to work at it, but she did, and now many of the friends she meets are people who also need a new friend. The older we get, the harder it is to meet new people. It takes effort and it takes commitment.
Every day God puts people in our path we’re supposed to meet. They’re people we may not even want to meet. They’re people we meet for reasons Jesus will explain when we see him in Heaven, and he pulls back the curtain on our lives. They’re people who need us, they’re people we need … and they’re people who will help us and who we’re supposed to help, sometimes without even realizing it.
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We have friends we haven’t even met yet.