Coincidences ?

Is there such a thing as a coincidence when one is a Christian? I don't really think so because God is in control of all things so He is directing our paths - even when they cross paths of someone else seemingly coincidentally!

Today my family went to Springfield, a city about 80 miles away, to take some books to a used book store for credit, to use a gift certificate to Olive Garden, and to make a hospital visit.
At the hospital, after visiting with the couple we went to see, we came out of the elevator - and I heard someone say, "Are you Conny?"

And there stood a RN that looked vaguely familiar! Suddenly it hit me: she was Cheryl, the daughter of my 8th grade teacher and the sister of my all-time favorite youth pastor growing up. The irony is that I went to 8th grade in Knoxville/Powell, Tennessee which is about 680 miles from Springfield! I knew my old teacher had moved to Springfield many years ago as they have connections to the Baptist Bible College that is located there (and I think her husband still works on the grounds there; their son is now a BBF missionary to Brazil, I think, formerly to Lithuania).

The other irony is that when we first moved to Missouri about 7 years ago, we also ran into Cheryl at the mall in Springfield. I've been meaning to visit her mom ever since then - to introduce my kids to probably my all-time favorite teacher! I guess I really need to do that some day SOON!!

So, that was a wonderful - shall we say - divine appointment or act of Providence or something to that extent!

Tonight I was reading my usual blogs - and I came across a post that really touched my heart - a post about accepting and learning from loss (even though this ladies' loss is greater than anything I have experienced - but the conclusions we have made are somewhat the same). I already started plotting to link her blog entry to mine as it fits with my theme from the last few days (at least in my brain). I wanted to leave a comment for the blogger, and so I did - and in reading through other comments I again stumbled upon a name I knew from my past! There was the name & face of the originator of a group of Christian women facing infertility that I was once a part of (from about 1997-2002) called Hannah's Prayer. In fact, I once "wrote" an article for the group's newsletter Hannah-to-Hannah, which was my very first writing to be posted on the Internet!

Here is the article, which isn't just helpful if one has lost a child, it can be applied towards accepting any loss - loss of health, dreams, career, money, status, etc.:
What Loss Taught Me