“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of; there is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” – Fred Rogers

Yesterday a wonderful friend and former colleague stopped by the office — and I’m still thinking about it today. He’s dropped by just a few times since retiring and each visit has left me marveling. I can’t think of any other way to describe this, but people LOVE him. And not in a “oh, he’s such a nice guy” kind of way. Rather in a oh-my-gosh-drop-whatever-it-is-you’re-doing-because-he’s-here kind of way. Which is exactly what I did when I overheard someone nearby say, “Hey, (name) is here — but he’s getting ready to leave, so you need to catch him!” They weren’t even talking to me, yet I pushed away from my desk and bolted to the front entrance to see him.

I’m not the only one who reacts like this. Not even close. It literally becomes a viral moment when he’s around. I don’t even know how long it took him to finally get out the front door yesterday as word spread of his presence in the building. Again, this isn’t the first time I’ve been awed by the impact he has. It’s consistent and it’s remarkable.

I’ve been trying to pinpoint what exactly it is about him that taps into the universal hearts of others. He’s soft-spoken, ridiculously kind, funny as can be, warm, and always smiling. And he makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world. He’s fully present and listens intently, genuinely interested in how you are, how your family is doing, all the things.

I think I’ve decided that it all goes to what Mr. Rogers says above: this man leaves with you the sense that you have worth, you’re cared for, and you’ve been seen and heard. In other words, he leaves people better than when he found them.

Truly, I am so very grateful for his friendship and his example of what it means to treat all of God’s children with kindness and care. What a gift. I hope I can be even just a little bit like him when I grow up.

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