Providence, Not Coincidence

Looking back, in the month before my Dad died, things sort of fell into place. Everything that happened was much more than mere coincidence. Do you believe in coincidence? I simply cannot, I must believe in Providence because too many things "worked out" perfectly.
My Dad was a very "inside the box" man. Everything happened in order, steps could not be skipped, and he always had a plan. When it came to vacations, he would occasionally take a spontaneous beach trip, but if we wanted to stay a couple of days, it had to be planned out months before. A week and a day before he died, Dad told us he wanted to go to the beach in two days, and stay for 3 days. He said that life had been crazy lately, and he just wanted some time with his family. The crazy thing is, the rest of us were not completely sure we wanted to go. It was going to rain the whole time, and mom, the girls and I had just gotten back from a youth trip. Still, Dad was determined to go, and we all said "Sure, why not?" The family time sounded great, even if the flooding weather didn't. Thus, we stayed at a house 30 minutes from the beach and had a great time. We watched movies, and laughed, and played games. The second night we ate out at a Mexican place. After that, it started pouring and we saw a covered dock open to the public so we grabbed some umbrellas and ran out there just to look. It "just so happened" I grabbed out my iPhone camera a took pictures of Mom and Dad and then Dad and I. I didn't know they would the last pictures of us together.

Two weeks before he died, Dad's old white car broke down. It was heat-less, AC-less, and 13 years old. And it was supposed to be mine. I was so happy when he sold it (for scrap) and bought a new car. The thing about the new car is, it's the nicest car he ever bought for himself and it's fairly new. When he first brought this car home, Lydia called it "The Mom Mobile" it looked kind of girly. We changed the nick-name for Dad's sake, but I found it hard to imagine him driving around in that car for another decade. But now, it's mine. It looks like a car I would own, it's very nice, and it's the last thing he bought me (even if he didn't know that). Coincidence? I don't think so.

Lastly, I don't believe in coincidences because of the note. I would occasionally write Mom and/or Dad notes telling them that I loved them and such. There was nothing really special about the night before he died. But as I got into bed, I thought maybe I should write my parents a note. I realized how greatly I was blessed, and I wanted them to know that. The note told them that they were one in a million and I was blessed to be their daughter and I loved them. I taped it to their door. Dad found it that night and put it on his bathroom mirror where it remains. I usually just wrote notes after a great talk with them or after something crazy had happened, but that Monday was normal. Yet, God urged me to write it and I am forever grateful for that.

I have heard people who do not believe in God call the things above "coincidences" or "fate" or "chance." I believe there is too much evidence of God's grace to believe in such. We could have declined the beach trip easily, or he could have bought an old beat up car again, or I would have said "forget the note, I'm too tired." I believe that "He works all things together for the good of those who love God." 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "....No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what God has prepared for those who love him." Because God loves me as His child saved by grace, he has a plan and he will bring it into completion. I can only see this glimpse of pain, but God sees the big picture!