Rich Dixon is back. (And so am I.)

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Perhaps you recognize the two guys in the photo.

Jon and I “knew” each other, in the online sense, prior to the ride. I was a big fan of 300 WORDS – and a frequent commenter. In the lead up to the ride, I recall leaning on Jon, via email, for encouragement.

Somewhere in the conversation he mentioned attending a conference in Kansas City at about the time we would be in southern Iowa, and wouldn’t it would be amazing if our paths crossed. I’m not sure I believed it would happen. Once the ride started, with so much happening, this sort of slipped into the background.

So imagine my surprise. I’m cranking along an Iowa farm road, a car pulls up beside me, and this guy I recognize from photos says, “Hi Rich.”

In a little roadside park, Nancy, Jon, Becky, and I (and Monte) had one of those conversations that seem to occur between old friends that just met for the first time. Jon and Nancy offered to grab lunch from the nearest town, and we met in a farmyard a few miles down the road and enjoyed the most wonderful meal together.

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I’ve been thinking lately about how little we understand how we impact other people. Or how God uses our actions in ways we could never possibly understand.

I drop a few comments on Jon’s blog, which leads to this photo in Iowa farmer’s driveway. Which leads to deeper conversation, more in-person visits at our house and theirs, and to me sharing this story with you.

And…who’s been touched along the way that you and I will never know about?

I don’t know how that works.

I think that’s why Jesus invited us simply to follow, because when we do life like He did we touch people in ways completely beyond our understanding.

And sometimes we meet old friends for the first time.