Coincidences. God puts people in our lives and around us for very important reasons. Our encounters in this life are not by chance.
What would have happened if the first day I wanted to go to church my roommate Chris said, “no, go on your own, I’m not going to that place”? I probably wouldn’t have gone. I may have never gone back. That would have altered my life in profound ways.
Chris was raised a certain way. I think he was raised or taught, at least to some extent, to have an open mind. When I asked him to go with me to my church his reaction was, “sure, why not?”
I have a friend who got baptized about 5 years ago. I came back to church about 4 years ago. That person has become one of my closest friends, especially in the church. We were able to grow together in our testimonies. Early on, we had things in common, namely: sports.
What would have happened if that friend didn’t get baptized? Would I still be here? Without someone to talk about the struggles, challenges, ups, and downs of returning to church, or in his case joining a church, would either of us have had the strength on our own to continue? Of course, if it wasn’t this friend someone else may have stepped in. That’s the amazing part about life. The butterfly effect is a phrase we use. Switch one event, one minor detail, and where are we?
This friend’s mother lived across the country so I hadn’t had a chance to meet her for the first part of our friendship. I was always so excited to meet his mom. Why? Because I wanted to meet the person who raised someone that was so open minded to investigate and research a church and find truth. People completely open to truth, in whatever form it comes, are rare today. When I met her I was not disappointed. She was an open-minded, positive, and powerful woman.
What would have happened if she didn’t raise her son this certain way? What if 5 years prior he was introduced to the church and, because of moments throughout his life, he instead developed a closed-off approach to new things? What if he said, “I don’t need a church.” If he didn’t get baptized 5 years ago, would I be here?
Dominoes. Butterflies.
There are all these moments, countless moments that impact us. We’ll never know in this life how tiny moments in our life have profound impacts.
I know that God laid forth this plan and every moment is important. We’re here to grow, we’re here to learn. I firmly believe God put us in the best possible position to accomplish those things. There are no coincidences in God’s plan.
I’m grateful for people with open minds. I’m grateful for people with closed-off minds. I’m grateful for people in between. We all have something to teach each other and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be here and to develop relationships, to learn to love, and to learn what is most important. Every day is a new opportunity to learn and grow and I’m thankful for that.
No Coincidences 