I believe things don’t “just happen”. Words like “coincidence’, “chance” and “luck” are not words I use very often. People will say things like “Wow! What are the chances that we saw each other today?” Others might say “What good luck I have had!” And of course, some will say “What bad luck I have had.” I do not believe these things “Just happen”. I do not believe the world we live in, every day, has millions and millions of random occurrences. We all need people in our lives. Those friends are there when we need them and we are there for them just the same. Is it coincidence or a Divine connection from God?
Today we will be discussing:
- It is Coincidence or a Divine Connection from God?
- It is Not By Chance
- Is It A Coincidence?
- God Connects us to the People We Need – My Story
- THAT’S a “God Connection”!
- God Put Us Together For a Reason
- We Both Lost our Husbands and Could Help Each Other Cope
- God knew the plans He had for us; plans to give us hope and a future.
Let’s think about this for just a minute:
There are approximately 255 million adults, over the age of 18, in the United States right now, and over 5 billion adults in the world! No matter where you live, unless you live on a deserted island, you live on earth with other adults. Let’s say you live in a medium populated area; maybe with a population of at least 50,000. There is you, and 49,999 other adults in your town or community.
It is Not By Chance
You decided today, on your way to work, to stop at a coffee shop. You left at your normal time to get to work; You took the same route to work; You had to stop at the normal number of traffic lights on your way. But today, in the 10 minutes you are in the coffee shop, you see a friend that you haven’t seen in 10 years. Was this a random occurrence? Did it occur “Just by chance”? If so, how come you haven’t seen this friend over the past 10 years? Do you think it may have been just good luck? Is it coincidence or a Divine connection from God?
The friend had to leave at the exact right time, make it through the exact right number of traffic lights, travel the perfect speed, and arrive within the 10-minute window you were in the coffee shop. Coincidence? I don’t believe so. So why then today did you see this friend? Now, imagine the same scenario, except the friend lived in another city, maybe even another country! Could this meeting in the coffee shop “just happen”?
Is It A Coincidence?
Or how about this: You meet a complete stranger at the park while you are out with your kids. You begin talking to this stranger, and learn that they know your father, your brother, your uncle. Or they have a child in the same grade as you, or went to the same college as you! What is the coincidence right? Is it coincidence or a Divine connection from God?
I believe these are not “by chance”, but instead they are God connections. I believe God has ways of putting people together, for reasons we often do not understand. I believe in these “Divine appointments” and sometimes we have to look for the reasons behind them. Is God performing a miracle right in front of your eyes? Is He answering a prayer someone had, through this “random” meeting? Is there something He is teaching me or the person you “just happen” to meet, or maybe both of you?
I believe we live in a world that was created by God.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
And I believe that God also created man and woman.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
And I believe this same God who created me, knows my every need, and He knows your every need!
He knows what I need, even before I do. He has the full picture; He knows my future.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
God Connects us to the People We Need – My Story
During the years my late husband was fighting MSA (Multiple System Atrophy), we worked long and hard to keep his muscles functioning as they were designed. You can read more about that part of our journey here. He had worked with a physical therapist, who taught him all the exercises he needed to stay strong, but my husband’s ability to perform these exercises on his own was just non-existent. So, one day, on the way home from a physical therapy appointment, I called a 24-hour fitness location near our home, and I spoke to a manager about hiring a personal trainer to work with my husband.
Shortly afterwards, my husband was assigned a personal trainer that he began working with weekly. The trainer was married to a man who was almost the same age as my husband. She herself was about my age. The trainer and her husband had been married almost the exact same number of years as my husband and I, we had similar likes and dislikes, and as we got to know each other more, we became great friends. She helped work his muscles, as long as he physically could, but the disease was taking over his body. We ended our sessions with the trainer as his body became too weak.
But during the time we knew this trainer, we had become good friends. Almost 2 years went by before my husband went home to be with Jesus, and I again reached out to this same personal trainer to work on getting myself in better shape. When I reached out to her, her immediate response was “I am so glad you contacted me. I have been trying to figure out a way to call & tell you. My husband was just diagnosed with ALS. He has only about 2 years to live.” (ALS and MSA are very similar diseases. I knew all too well what she was about to go through).
THAT’S a “God Connection”!
This sweet woman helped us for over a year, as my husband’s muscles deteriorated. She was not only his trainer but also became a good friend. Little did we know during my husband’s training sessions, that she would be using some of the same treatments on her own husband soon. We had no idea while my husband was receiving personal training sessions, and talking to his trainer, she was hearing his story of strength and endurance; she was hearing about our living and enjoying life to the fullest, despite the difficult trials he was going through.
We Both Lost our Husbands and Could Help Each Other Cope
At the same time that the trainer was helping my husband, she was listening, and less than 2 years later she was using some of these same things she had learned from our lives, to help she and her husband through the difficult journey of ALS. During the 2 years that followed, my trainer and I had many, many conversations. We grew even closer as I was able to be there for her, listen to her struggles, and help her when she was having difficult days. I had lived the life of a Caregiver with my husband, so I knew what she was going through.
God Put Us Together For a Reason
We often worked out together, while we talked about the difficulties of caring for a loved one. We talked about how God had put us together; how God knew we would need each other in the years to come. We recognized that our paths before meeting each other were very similar. And after meeting, we believed was just simply a divine appointment; a God Connection. Is it coincidence or a Divine connection from God? We believe it is a Divine connection. We believe our God, who created each of us, put us together for a reason.
We invite you to watch the GREAT NEWS FOR YOU VIDEO on this page.
He knew I needed a friend to talk to, after I lost my husband, and she needed a friend to talk to while her husband was ill. God knew we would understand each other, in ways that only someone who had gone through these very similar diseases would understand. God knew we would be there for each other, lend a shoulder to cry on when each other needed it, and to lift each other up when the time was right. God knew what was ahead for each of us. So that day years ago, when I made the phone call to a local 24-hour fitness to hire a personal trainer, it didn’t “just happen” that the trainer I received would be the perfect fit for us in the circumstances we ALL would need.
God knew the plans He had for us; plans to give us hope and a future.
God says:
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Isaiah 41: 13
There it is! God tells us He will help us! Is it coincidence or a Divine connection from God? Yes – I believe in God Connections. I believe we are not immune to bad things that happen in the world. In fact, God also says we WILL have trials & tribulations. (1 Peter 5:10; Romans 12:12; John 16:33). BUT He also promises to help us. I believe what some might call a “coincidence”, is in fact God fulfilling His promises.
We just have to be aware of God’s “help”. We have to be watching & paying attention to the God Connections that are happening all around us, every day! And we need to truly search for – what is God trying to teach me today? How is God going to use me, my story, my past to help someone in their future? I can be comforted knowing that God is sending someone to help me through my trials. He is sending me a God Connection, and taking me by the hand and saying “It will all be ok. Do not fear. I am here to help you.”
