Synergy

We have many teachers in life, each one unique.

The teacher I am thinking about today came to Ottawa as a young scientist working for the National Research Council. Young and single -and looking for a place to meet young ladies - he attended a service in a downtown church - maybe he would meet some attractive women there. And he did. He soon met the woman who would become his wife. It was love at first sight. But something else happened in the months that followed: he also encountered God in a new way, and felt called to become an Anglican priest, which he also did.

This is how I met him years later - as the priest in my church.

LESSON 1: You never know what random action can change the course of your life!

He shared this biographical information in an early sermon. Another time, he spoke of synergy, a scientific mystery that people have known for centuries but cannot explain - that somehow, two people working together can accomplish more than two individuals working alone.
King Solomon spoke of it hundreds of years ago when he said: Two are better than one, for they have a good reward for their labor.

I think of synergy whenever I feel overwhelmed by a problem - maybe I need someone to help me - or when I look back and wonder how a certain group managed to accomplish what they did. The answer is synergy.

LESSON 2: Don't always try to do it alone - you will accomplish more as a team, even a team of two.

This man was a priest for only a short time in our church. Ill health forced him to retire suddenly, though he did live on for quite a few years. He died a week ago.

When I think of the short time I knew him, out of the many years he lived and worked, both as a priest and scientist, I am sure that there are many others who look back on life lessons they gained from him.

LESSON 3: You never know who your life or your words will impact, or how those impacted by you will go on to influence others. Each one of us - unknowingly - contributes to the lives of more people than we can ever imagine.