Coincidence or God?

Your server having the same name as you.

Having the exact change you need to buy your lunch.

Saying the exact same thing at the exact same time. Jinx. Pinch, poke, you owe me a coke!

Coincidences. Some people believe there are no such thing as coincidences, and others believe everything is coincidence. I'm a middle of the road kind of gal myself. I think random things can happen and I think certain things are definitely divine intervention.

More and more, I'm encountering people who have lost their faith in God. Science seems to make more sense to them right now, for whatever reason that may be. I love these people unconditionally regardless of what they believe, but my heart breaks for them. Why? Because eternity is on the line. I don't want to spend eternity without them, and I don't want them to spend an eternity in anything other than the marvelous place God has prepared for his people!

I'm not foolish enough to think I can change everyone's mind just by telling why I choose to believe. But maybe, just maybe, I can help someone see that there is too much divine intervention in this life to all be a big jumble of random coincidences. After all, is it scientific to believe everything could be so random?

The non-coincidences in my life:

Survival. Surviving the emotional turmoil of my first marriage is no coincidence. I know there are strong people that have to put their lives back together all the time, but there is a difference in my experience. I had God. He protected me in ways I didn't know until it all came out in the open. My life was on the verge of complete disaster and he saved me just in time. Not only did he deliver me from such a tumultuous relationship, he allowed me to pick up the pieces of my broken heart so that I could love again. I though it'd take me years to love and trust again. Boy, was I wrong. The fact that I could love again is proof there is a God. Without his strength, I am weak.

Ben Baker. God designed and created this man with me in mind. He knew the one person I could trust more than anything after feeling so betrayed in my first marriage and he placed him in my life at exactly the right time. Ben is not a coincidence. He is my partner, my match, my safe place. Ben is the life inside my veins. He pushes me out of comfort zones and challenges me in ways I've never experienced. It's a coincidence we lived two doors down from each other while married to our first spouses. It's not a coincidence that we met just when we needed each other the most. That, my friends, was God.

Emerson Katherine. It's not a coincidence she was born with autism. Being her mother has shaped me in too many ways to mention. It's also not a coincidence she is now thriving in ways we never dreamed possible. Many could say it was the therapy that turned her non-verbal, fit-pitching life around. They would be right. However, it was God that paved the path to Goal Point Behavior Group. It was God that placed her with Cece, the best one-on-one behavior therapist ever. It was God that put Whitney in charge of managing her therapy. These people loved Emmie as their own. They poured hour upon hour into her progress and helped her find her voice and her personality. They fought fiercely for her, even when she was dismissed from their services and we came calling for help during difficult setbacks. They watch her now and cheer her on in the pictures I post on Facebook. They are the hands and feet of Jesus. There's no other explanation for them. People like that radiate the love of God. It can't be hidden or diminished. They shine.

Brown Hill Road. The street name of our next, and forever, home. It's not a coincidence.

If you know me well, you also know my husband has always been obsessed with owning land that we can both live and hunt on the property. We have tried numerous times to pursue this dream of his. It's just never worked out. The closest we got was trying to purchase 2 acres in Hawkinsville. It was taking forever to close on the land loan. We couldn't figure out why. After a few months, we decided maybe it was God's way of telling us it wasn't time yet. Shortly after, we received Emmie's autism diagnosis and decided to start her in ABA therapy that would take place for 3-4 hours each day of the week. We would need the help of my parents to get her there every day and living that far away from the therapy office would have been terrible. We saw it as a blessing that it didn't work out. Plus, 2 acres really wasn't enough for what we wanted to do.

We bought a newly built house (that we live in now) where we have enjoyed living for the past 4 years. However, Ben always kept looking. He often felt like it would never happen. It seemed like everyone else was being able to do what he wanted to do and it made him wonder why he couldn't make it happen for himself, or why God wasn't allowing it to happen for us. He showed me this house once that was WAY out of our price range and wasn't even finished being built. It was on 12 acres and it was much more "house" than we needed. He asked me what I thought about it and I told him he was nuts for even looking at it. He laughed it all off and kept looking for more realistic options for the future.

Fast-forward to 4 months ago and my eager husband walks through the door after going on "a drive." This man literally decided to drive around the little town of Elko, Georgia to "see what he could find." He pulled up pictures on Zillow and asked if I remembered him showing me this listing a long time ago. I immediately recognized it as the super expensive house on 12 acres that needed to be finished. He startled raddling off about how it wasn't on the market anymore and it's just sitting there with nothing going on with it. He began dreaming about finding the owner and making a low offer to "take it off his hands."

My husband is a dreamer, an idealist. I am a realist. I saw way too many obstacles in our way to ever make this happen, but he didn't. He tracked down the owner, contacted our realtor and asked to open a line of communication with this person! I'll admit, I was extremely doubtful anything would ever come out of his efforts, but I also knew I needed to let him try. He'd always be wondering about it in the back of his mind if he didn't at least try.

We quickly learned that this property had an interesting history. The owner was a hard-money lender who financed a person to build a home on the property. Half way through the build, the builder ran out of funds to finish the house. He tried asking for more money, but the lender had already provided a hefty amount and wasn't willing to offer any more assistance. Long story short, the building stopped, the builder disappeared and the house has sat there ever since. At first, the lender (now owner) tried to sell the property, but it was a lot of money for an unfinished house. I'm still surprised no one bought it though. Coincidence or God?

Apparently, people came along from time to time and tried to purchase the property. We heard the owner wasn't willing to accept their offer, or he just didn't respond back to inquiries in general. Surprisingly, he was willing to talk to our realtor. Coincidence or God?

Our realtor laid it out for the owner. This was a dream of ours, but we weren't millionaires. Would he be willing to take what we could offer? This man accepted an offer almost half of what he listed it for when he first tried to sell it after taking it back. Coincidence or God?

We had to hope that the AC units and well that were already on the property worked after sitting idle for years. Both work and do not need to be replaced. Coincidence or God?

We had to put our house on the market and sell it in order to make this deal happen. As of yesterday, we are under contract on our current home and can move forward for closing on both homes in November. This is happening. I got to look at my husband last night and tell him, "It's your time. Your dream it about to come true."

He went for a drive...now we are getting a life-long dream fulfilled. Coincidence or God?

Plans that didn't work out were disappointing. Now, we can finish this house to our own taste and liking, and get more land then we ever though possible. Coincidence or God?

To me, the answer is clear.

I could go on and on about the goodness of God and all the ways his love and mercy show up for me. Instead, ask yourself, "Why am I so willing to believe this is all chance?"

My life is not coincidence. His goodness, love and faithfulness is not coincidence.