I Met A Man Named Daniel

I step quickly and intentionally, a grin of anticipation on my face. A grin of anticipation for the future of my life; who I could become. An unrealistic yet idealistic anticipation, for I have just met myself, nine years into the future.
As I begin to talk with Daniel, age twenty-five, I find that he was in many ways the same as I am now, at the age of sixteen. Reserved and thoughtful, he is quiet as I first start talking with him, and often doesn’t have much to say. This made the beginning of our conversation difficult because our timidity is mutual. But as we continue talking, he becomes more animated and loses the all too familiar discomfort of meeting someone for the first time. He starts by telling me about his life as a medical student at UBC. Coming out of high school he knew he wanted to be a doctor, and was accepted by the UBC science department. He then went on to the faculty of medicine, and spent a summer in Costa Rica, where he was able to experience being a doctor for the first time, without any true doctors experience. I could see the joy in his eyes as he described to me the operations he helped with, the sick that he helped heal. He described to me the sense of calling he felt from God, during that trip and ever since, to become a doctor; to heal the sick for the rest of his life. He will be going back to Costa Rica again soon, to stand in defiance of death and illness with the doctors he learned so much from.
He then told me about his other passion; music. He plays guitar and piano in a band, made up of a closely knit group of friends from his church in Vancouver. Together, they have recorded two full length albums, which they sell at the shows they play every weekend. Daniel tells me how he devotes most of his free time to the band, and how he and the band are planning a tour through British Columbia and Alberta in the upcoming summer. I can sense the elation and peace he feels as he once again describes the calling to use music as a way of honouring God.
He tells me how he still goes to the same church he went to Sunday School at, and how those he was closest to from childhood have remained steadfast friends all these years. He dreams of living in Vancouver for the rest of his life, travelling around the world to heal the sick and play with his band. He will continue following the path his life is on, and will keep the friends that he has loved so dearly all his life.
And as I walk away from the Daniel of the future with that grin of anticipation, I know that even if the future of my dreams doesn’t become reality, whatever God has in store for my life will be brilliant.