Not A Coincidence
There are times in life where something will happen and a person will call it fate. There are times in life when something good will happen and a person will say they are lucky. There are times in life when things happen at the same time that have nothing to do with each other and a person will call it a coincidence. There are times in life when all of these things are true but they are not a coincidence at all. They may seem like a coincidence at the time or maybe its just not intended to be understood at that particular moment.
Around October 2014 we left our last church and started attending Pantego Bible Church. We didn’t know what to tell people when they asked. Nothing bad happened. We really didn’t have a reason other than we just knew God was leading us in that direction. It was strange but we were certain about our choice. The more we attended PBC and the more we got involved the more we knew we had made the right decision. That was it that’s all we could tell people. We instantly found the right community group and the right home group. It was incredible. Almost exactly a year to the date that we started attending PBC God revealed why PBC was not a coincidence.
October 16, 2015 our youngest daughter passed away from a pulmonary embolism. We got the knock on the door at 3:30 AM on October 17. We were at the counter for Southwest Airlines by 6AM to get our boarding passes so we could fly to Tempe. I asked the lady at the counter if she had a tissue. I explained I was crying because we had just found out our daughter had passed away. She handed me a box of tissues she had behind the counter and said she was so sorry and that she had lost her son 15 months prior. Once we landed in Phoenix we had to rent a car. We just picked the agency with the shortest line. I told the young man why we were in town, didn’t know how long we would be in town but we just needed something. He said don’t worry, I’m going to take care of you, I lost my best friend last week, I’m going to give you a really good deal. The next morning on October 18 we find Mark’s Cafe. We go in and order some breakfast. While we wait we make a list of what we need to do, who we need to call, etc. As we are making these list we notice christian music playing. It was very comforting. As we are eating I notice a little white board at the back by the kitchen window. On the way out of the cafe I told the young lady at the counter that God led us tho the cafe. She smiled and asked how so. As I explained she got tears in her eyes and explained that her dad had a vision when he opened the cafe that it would be a place of comfort and refuge through music and food for those who were hurting.
A few days later our families got to fly out to Tempe. They got to see Brook’s school the University of Advancing Technology and participate in a tour of the school and attend the memorial service the school held. One afternoon our family was sitting in the conference room that the school so graciously allowed our family to use when my brother came walking in obviously carrying things in his shirt. As he started putting them on the table, I asked him where he got these things and he choked up saying on top of one of those printer machines. I couldn’t believe it. I told to go put them back that they belong to students. They aren’t just free for the taking. What my brother was trying to explain was that a student gave them to him because they were projects Brook had made to give to her family as Christmas presents.
There are many, many more I could share from over the past years but I want to fast forward and talk about the last couple of weeks. On June 3 I begin a series of emails about possibly sending books through Brooks Books to a school in Mexico. On June 5 I order books from Scholastic because we are down to our last box of books that were donated 3.5 years ago when Brook passed away. In the order I placed I earned a free pack. What this means is I can pick from a list of packs but I will have no idea what books Scholastic will put in it. That’s fine with me and so I pick the kindergarten pack. On June 10 we found out that Kami and Eric got married on June 6th. On June 12 the books arrive from Scholastic. That night I told Kevan I would come to bed after I put Brooks Books stickers inside the books. The kindergarten pack was the very last set of books. I unwrapped them and one at a time put stickers inside them. I reached for the very last book and I couldn’t move. I just stared at the title and the cover. Over The Rainbow paintings by Eric Puybaret. I slowly turned each page. My Brook showed up. My Brook who taught herself to play the ukulele. Somewhere Over The Rainbow played by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole was played at her funeral. She showed up to give her blessing and to give Kevan and I peace about everything.
This morning I had a writing workshop to attend. We were asked to make a heart in our journal and fill our heart with things we love. I filled mine with friends, family, church, school, vacation, movies, etc. Then we were given around 7 minutes to write about something from our heart. It took me a minute or two but once I started writing the world around me was gone. I didn’t hear another thing until the instructor said stop. Of course next she asked for a volunteer to share. A deathly silence fell across the room. I finally raised my hand and shared what I had written. I shared about how blessed I was and how God has chosen to bless my life through family and friends. Later in another activity we had to find a partner from another table for a quick activity share. As I am looking for a partner a lady comes quickly walking up to me and ask to be my partner. Sure, no problem. Turns out this lady shared her activity which she called Kisses From Heaven. She lost her son 4 years ago. She looks for kisses from heaven every day. She later shared out to the group that she got her kiss from heaven today when she met me.
Y’all seriously, none of what I shared in this blog today could I or anyone else have ever planned in the timing in which it happened. None of these events could have had the same impact had they been planned by anyone or delivered by anyone other than God.
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