One of the things I see as an undeniable evidence for God is the way I've seen 'coincidences' in my life that HAD to have been planned out and ordained, for there is no other way things could have happened as they did. Josh and I being together, for instance, is a HUGE improbability at many levels. We talked about that last night and came up with a list of 'random,' improbable things that happened that caused us to be together today. It was crazy. It IS crazy
- We come from different towns, different schools, very different backgrounds and families
- The mutual friend, David, who introduced us ("Set us up," if you will) I knew in junior high, but rarely ran into in high school. We only started talking again after randomly running into each other a few times at the end of senior year then going out for coffee after senior year.
- After going out for coffee once, David & I didn't talk for a few months, until we happened to run into each other at Best Buy during a school break. We don't go to the same school. This is the point we actually started keeping in touch.
- Josh probably shouldn't have gone to Ball State, but he chose to anyway.
- I very easily could have ended up going to Baylor or Purdue, rather than Taylor.
- Josh and David lived on the same floor freshman year, both had roommate troubles, and their roomates were friends, so they ended up as roommates after first semester in a roommate swap.
- I came to visit David freshman year, but at the time, Josh was dating someone else. They ended up breaking up that semester.
- David invited Josh to hang out during the summer after freshman year. Josh asked that I be invited along as well, having only met me twice before, briefly. (I didn't know that till last night! I thought it was David's doing!)
- Josh asked me to be his girlfriend after we had been hanging out for just a week. What nice Christian girl would date someone she's known for a week!?
Since that time a year and a half ago, lots has happened to show me even more how and why God has set this up the way he has. We've individually and together had struggles where we've needed each other. We've studied and prayed together, learning more about God and his plan for our lives. It's crazy, really, how things have come together the way they have. What're the chances?
4 comments:
That is so cool and very encouraging. :)
God is good, isn't he?
Melissa
Isn't it awesome to look at things and realize how much of our lives are more than coincidence?
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but it can't hurt for someone to state the obvious: there is always a string of coincidences preceding -any- two people's meeting. There are a lot of people on this planet, and the chances of any specific pair of them interacting are pretty slim, so it is very easy to find amazing strokes of luck in the crossing of any two paths.
I don't wish to be discouraging; I just want to warn against reading God's sovereign blessing into something as innocuous as meeting a person of the opposite sex. I know people who have believed God was leading them to one another because of small coincidences, and it has led to heartbreak. Let's be hesitant to label coincidences as God's hand.
>>there is always a string of coincidences preceding -any- two people's meeting.
Granted, this is true. But there is a higher chance of me running into someone from my own hometown, or school, or church than someone from, say, China, although there are numerically more people in China than in my hometown. So, the further someone is away from me, geographically or culturally, the smaller the probablility I will run into them.
Now, if we were only together because we thought these 'coincidences' pointed to God putting us together, you're right, that would be a bad basis for a relationship. As it is, we're together because we do 'click;' we have similar interests and views and values and love each other the best we can. That is the real basis for our relationship.
I do believe God orchestrates things in our lives, and I think this is one of them, but we didn't "read God's sovereign blessing" solely because of that.
I just think it's neat to see the way God works. I believe it is no coincidence that I have had certain friends during struggles I have had, or that I have been available to be there for friends during hard tiems in their lives. God has brought people in and out of my life for reasons, and that's awesome- that he is looking out for us and cares enough to use others to bring help and healing and blessing.
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