The idea of coincidences to me is rather silly. However as of late it's been on my mind a fair amount. According to the World English Dictionary, one definition of Coincidence is "a chance occurrence of events remarkable either for being simultaneous or for apparently being connected." Just a random chance occurrence of events. That's all it is defined as. I think it's baloney. An easy cop out to avoid really thinking thatwhatever just happened might actually be something more than "pure coincidence". I think a "coincidence" is more than just random chance. I believe that they are more than that. What someone might view to be a coincidence I see it as something in which God's presence showed through just a bit more than usual. Something that shows the beauty of God and the role he plays in our lives. To pass something off as just coincidence I think cheapens Him and what He does in our lives.
Case in point. Something happened yesterday that absolutely is more than just "coincidence." I had an appointment at 2 pm to sit down, and share and talk about this mission trip I'm going on come January with the pastor of the church I've been attending roughly the last 2 years here in Iowa. I was nervous. Not nervous to talk with him about the World Race. I'm more than happy to chat about that. But nervous about approaching him and the church about the possibility of partnering with me through prayer and financially if possible. The idea of asking for money is tough for me. It pretty much always has been when it comes to fundraising regardless of what it is for. And considering the amount I need to raise, it just adds to it. That said, I know the money will be raised, but it doesn't make the act of donig so easier. Anyway, I'm off track.
I arrive to the church a few minutes early, go inside and head towards the main offices while still feeling nervous, praying just a bit to have my nerves calmed. And I hear it. Some instrument being played from inside of the sanctuary. Possibly practicing for this weekend. I recognize the tune immediately. 800 plus songs in the hymnal I grew up with, and the song being played is Here I Am Lord. Hands down my favorite. It always has been for as long as I can remember, even growing up years ago. And instantly, it was just another one of those moments of feeling that "it's all good." Just another moment that screams to me that this is absolutely where I should be and what I should be doing (The World Race). A God thing.
I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear My light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.
The whole song can be found here. Here I Am Lord Coincidence that it's playing as I'm walking into the main office? Coincidence that in 2 years of attending, this is the first time I have even heard this song here? Ummmm, no! No its not! It's so much more!
And I want to share just one more quick story to bring this whole idea home. Something from a couple of years ago. Another God thing. My senior year at the University of Toledo, some random night I decided to go to bed early. No particular reason. Nothing was going on the next day. For all I remember, it could have been the weekend. And when I say early, I probably crawled in around 9:30pm or so. That's not me. I'm a night owl. If I'm in bed before midnight it's an early night. And I never go to bed that early. I don't mean never as in maybe once every other month. I mean never as in NEVER. At least not since I last had a mandated bedtime.
Anyway, for whatever reason, I just felt like going to bed early. I fall asleep and a couple hours late I hear frantic pounding on my door. Probably some time between midnight and 1:00am. Someone calling for me. I open it, and it's some guy I vaguely remember. A friend of my sister's. He's in a panic, saying my sister basically passed out outside the dorm for some unknown reason and needed to be taken to the hospital. I drove her over and waited there for a couple hours, waiting with her, and waiting for my parents to drive in from a little over an hour away. After they arrived and they got caught up on everything, I made my way back home, probably around 4 am. My sister ended up being just fine. But my point is that something like this is more than just a coincidence. It's not just a chance occurence of events that I went to bed the earliest I had all year, getting a few hours of sleep, before having to wake up, go to head to the hospital, and keep my head on straight while my sister was being attended to. Again, was it a coincidence? Not a chance.
God Bless!
