life on the fence: blast from the past

do you ever have those experiences where you think, "there's no way that was a coincidence"? i was out sick yesterday, so when i got into the office today one of the first things i did was check my voicemail. i started listening to one message and thought "this sounds a lot like julie." julie was a colleague/friend that i knew from my days back at united way. though we worked at different agencies, our efforts often overlapped. when i quit united way to head to spain, julie and i caught a bit of dinner after work to talk about it. she had been in the peace corps and had a great deal of insight to share. she's just one of those people whose personality is so genuine you can't help but want to call her friend.

when i was flying to spain i had a layover in detroit. it was my last stop in the united states before heading overseas. traveling alone, apprehensive, and unsure of what i should expect, i headed to the international gate for my flight. as i got near, who did i see walking in the terminal? julie. she was traveling back to kc from a wedding. i don't think God could've placed any better person in my path at that moment. we sat and chatted for about half and hour. as absurd as it was that i would see her in detroit at that very moment, it was exactly the reassurance i needed to board that plane.

that terminal conversation was the last time i saw julie. i lost track of her after i returned to the states. i often wondered what happened to her, but google searches proved unfruitful. perhaps that's why it struck me familiar as i listened to that voicemail this morning. i continued through the message from this lady wanting to know how to donate used items to our family support center until i got to the point where the woman gave me her contact info. i was stunned when i discovered that it was julie! she probably didn't know who she was leaving the message for (she would've known me by my maiden name), but i was so excited to give her a call back.

it's been years since i've talked with her, and though we weren't close friends she played a pivitol role in preparing me for my spanish adventure. it was refreshing to get to know her. it was intervention to run into her in detroit. it was a blessing to hear from her again today.

when i told my boss this story today, she made a great, hopeful observation: maybe julie and i were just meant to be friends.