There have been more stories untold than told while on this journey. And what I mean by the word stories is encounters with people. Conversations. High fives. Introductions. Small talk. Prayers. Smiles. And everything else in between.
Something that I’ve seen occur periodically throughout the race is running into people I or someone else had met previously. The first time this happened was during training camp in Uganda. I was walking back from getting street food and saw my squad mate Liz talking to a girl with brown hair. I couldn’t see her face because she was facing away from me. But I recognized her voice. So, I began walking towards them and immediately recognized her from high school! She and I had been introduced 8 years ago; around the time I began seriously following the Lord.
How crazy is that? I ran into a friend from 8 years ago halfway around the world in an African country! Coincidence…maybe. Or a purposeful encounter.
As I’ve witnessed people randomly meeting again, and seeing it also happen to me, I’ve started to see it less as something that “doesn’t matter,” and more as maybe this person was brought to me again because God is up to something and He wants me to be a part of it.
I have also run into people in Thailand and Cambodia that I met in Malaysia. Sometimes we will end up staying at the same hostel, or be walking down the street and recognize each other. I bring all this up because God is teaching me to care more about the things He is orchestrating in my life, and that includes ironically or not so ironically running into the same people across towns, cities and countries.
People from my past have also come back into my life when they have heard about my World Race journey on social media. I’ve had old high school friends contact me about my journey and even strangers reach out to me about my World Race trip.
Anonymous people have donated to my trip. Random people have messaged me on Facebook and Instagram about my journey and following the Lord. Because this really cool thing happens when you start seeking God – people notice. Being bold in our faith connects people. And I think this is what we need as a body of believers – to be more bold in our faith. Because when we are willing to use what we have to glorify God, I absolutely think He will show up in the most magnificent ways.
I’ve recognized that the more bold I am in seeking God, the more I see God working in my life. Nothing in God’s eyes is a coincidence – our lives are completely in His hands. And we can rest in the assurance that in His hands is the best place to be. He has so many wonderful things He wants us to experience in our lives, but we may miss those opportunities if we don’t choose to do life with Him.
Even more, we may not see “coincidences” with meaning or purpose unless we are seeking God in our everyday lives. God is eternal; He exists outside of time. So everything that occurs in our life is something He knew was going to take place all along, and some of those things He even ordains to happen. May we choose to not let these moments slip us by, but to see God is every occurrence.
“Lord, I am so thankful that there are no coincidences in my life, but only God-incidences. Open my eyes to see You are work. Don’t let me miss your fingerprints on the pages of my days.”
