Coincidence? I Think Not!

How many times have things happened to you and you put it off as mere coincidence? I used to do that all the time until a few years ago when I came to the realization that nothing happens by coincidence. You see, all things that happen are a part of God's plan for mankind. Sometimes many seemingly insignificant and sometimes annoying occurrences can all line up together with a result that could only be a part of God's master plan. My family and I have recently had one of those experiences.

Our long Thanksgiving weekend was probably not completely unlike most people, a lot of food and a lot of driving. We spent some time with my Mother-In-Law, some time with my Brother-In-Law and his wife, and some time with my family in southwestern Pennsylvania. It was a long weekend and there was some forecasting for potential winter weather, especially in higher elevations. Since we had to go through Somerset to get home, we decided to leave early on Sunday so we could get out ahead of the weather. We made plans to get up early, leave Dad's house early and stop for breakfast at Eat'n Park. My son was there at the same time we were and he announced that he had the same breakfast plans on Sunday and soon my aunts, my brother, and all of us were going to meet for breakfast. Wouldn't you know it, this was certainly going to slow us down. When I loaded up the car on Sunday morning, it was already starting to rain and there seemed to be some ice in the falling drops and I was starting to get a little nervous that we would not beat the weather. We went to breakfast and had a great time but still left a little behind the schedule I had planned. Thankfully we were not behind God's schedule. As we were driving home, we hit a lot of slowdowns on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This was quite annoying and was really starting to get on our nerves since we were in a hurry to get past Somerset before the harsh weather started.

When we finally arrived at the Somerset rest area, we decided to stop in for some Starbucks to relieve some of the stress. We got to the parking lot and it was jammed. We ended up parking on the outer edge and walking into a very crowded rest area with a long line at Starbucks. Well by the time we got through Starbucks and bathroom breaks, it was a long time. As we were leaving the rest stop area, a young boy cut in front of my wife and then slid behind the front door to the building. My wife, always attentive to small children, stopped and asked the boy of he was lost. Through some teary eyes, he told Kristy that he had lost his mommy. Kristy took him by the hand and headed back into the rest area to look for a manager. As soon as she was back in the building the Mom was pretty obvious as she was looking frantic and then looked very relieved when she saw the young boy in tow. The boy left my wife's hand and went straight to his Mom. While they were having that moment together, Kristy just turned and left the building again. On the way out several people in line who had seen what happened took the time to thank Kristy for what she had done. We got back in the car and both realized that we were exactly where God wanted us to be at exactly the moment He wanted us there. It is amazing how all of our traffic problems and extra breakfast time combined to get us there at the right time.

I am certain that there were some stories told somewhere this week about an angel at a Pennsylvania Turnpike rest area who showed up out of nowhere, brought the boy back to his Mom and then disappeared as quickly as she came. That may be so but I can tell you without a doubt that angel drives a pickup truck and listens to rock music. It is interesting how someone who is out of character for an angel suddenly becomes and angel for someone in need when God lines up the circumstances.

It now ever more clear to us that nothing happens as a mere coincidence. The sovereign hand of God is very active in all circumstances in life.