Do things happen for a reason?

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there... to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who are these people may be but when you look eyes with them, you know that every moment that you are with them, they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, will power or heart.
Everything happens for a reason! Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere, safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.
The successes and downfalls that you experience can create who you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from.... In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. So, create your own life then LET GO and LIVE IT…yeah!!

I personally believe that God can and does work His purposes through events we might see as random; but on the other hand I believe that one of God's highest purposes is to allow as much freedom as possible to His creation, especially His more sentient creatures. It's a paradox to me, but God might be resolving that paradox in a way that I can't understand. St. Paul said that "all things work together for good to them that love God" ( Rom 8:28 )
I may just not smart enough sometime to understand how...