God-incidence

The day was warm, but not hot, with an occasional breeze to cool and tease. The air was filled with the scents of newly mown grass, flowers blooming, and the earth drying after a rain. Butterflies lazily flitted from blossom to blossom, drinking their fill as bees buzzed about in their bustling way. Bird sang to one another as squirrels chattered.

It was a beautiful morning--hard to believe all this going on around while sitting in the parking lot, waiting to enter a doctor's office for an appointment. Yet cars drove by. Delivery truck rumbled in, unloaded their wares and nosily left again. People walked to and from their cars--some quickly, some slowly as if the weight of the world was theirs alone; some obviously in pain. The parking space beside her filled, emptied, and filled again as people came and went.

Noting a flash of color beside her, she saw another car parking. Its motor was so quiet that it virtually made no sound at all. She watched with curiosity as the driver got out, looked directly at her and spoke. So many people simply never see others around them.

"Good morning, it is such a beautiful day isn't it. Are you enjoying the cooler day?"

It startled her as she realized the driver was speaking to her. "It is a beautiful day."

After their brief exchange the person headed into the building, returning a few minutes later. "Goodness that didn't take you long."

"No, just picking up some medical records before another appointment. Oh, I see you're reading. I didn't mean to disturb you."

Thus began a real conversation. The book intrigued the other person and it led to "have you read . . ." and on the conversation went. The other driver began to pour out her heart . . . her marriage was failing . . . she questioned God . . . so much evil . . . is there really any hope . . . and on the conversation wound. What a coincidence to part beside one another at the doctor's office could lead to such an encounter--and an answer for a burning life question. Coincidence?

He had been rebuilding the motor of the truck for months in his spare time. He was restoring the truck to its former glory and finally had it running smoothly--time for a road trip. It almost purred as they traveled down the highway to the city an hour or so away. It was a joy to see people turn to admire his restored "vintage" truck as he went by them.

Returning home that evening, he was proud of the hard work he had put into it and thought about all the enjoyment he would have in the future. Suddenly, the motor began to sputter and cut out. He slowed as other traffic sped past him and pulled to the side of the road; stopping just a couple of car lengths before other traffic merged into the highway.

Getting out to open the hood, he heard a loud crash. The car that had been behind him and passed him when his motor began to sputter had been broadsided by a vehicle merging onto the highway just ahead. He ran to assist them. The passengers were okay, but the cars were destroyed. Emergency personnel came to the scene. Police came and took his statement of what he had seen. "Buddy, you sure are lucky that your truck cut out on you or that would have been you the car hit," the officer said. Coincidence?

The phone rang and the person calling was offering her a job. They talked about the position, the requirements, the pay, and as they spoke it was as if they had always known one another. In the course of time, they went from co-workers to close friends. They shared their joys and sorrows, their doubts, fears, accomplishments . . . their lives. It was as if they had always known one another. Coincidence?

God works in mysterious ways in our lives. Sometimes our paths are clear; others they are filled with strange, winding ways. Coincidence? I don't think so. God brings others into our lives. Those encounters are God-incidences. Moments when God cares for us--we just don't always recognize the divine.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8).

Loving God we thank you for the time you give us; for the coincidences of our lives which we know in reality are God-incidences. Open our eyes so that we recognize you. So be it. Amen.