Opportunities to make a difference seem to appear quite naturally.

Yesterday, on my way to the ferry to cross over to Nanaimo to visit a friend who has been at a rehab centre there for the past 3 months, we passed a man hitch-hiking. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, a knitted cap covering his head and was walking purposefully along the road. He stuck out his thumb as we approached.

Their car being quit small and with all four of us seated in it, my brother-in-law quite naturally said, “We don’t really have room for another.”

“Sure we do,” I replied from the back seat where I sat with my sister.

And we squished over and we squished over to make room for Jim, the hitchhiker.

He too was going to the ferry and was delighted for the ride. “I didn’t think I’d catch the 1pm ferry,” he told me as we stood chatting on the deck during the 20 minute across across to Nanaimo. His battery was dead in his truck and he was on his way to pick up a new one. “It only took an hour for my brother to figure out what was wrong,” he laughingly told me. His brother lives in Jim’s hometown of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Jim lives here on the opposite coast.

We spent a delightful 20 minutes chatting and on the other side, Jim walked off to buy a battery and I took a cab to visit my friend who was delighted and grateful I took the time to come and visit. She hasn’t had many visitors while at the rehab centre, and while she knows she’s on the right path, she’s missed her friends. As I have missed her.

My conclusion at the end of the day as I rode the ferry back to Gabriola Island where C.C. and my sister and her husband were meeting me for dinner at the pub near the ferry — life is filled with opportunities to make a difference. I just have to be open to creating room for them to appear.