There was no way I was going to make it. My flight landed at 8:24 am. The conference started at 9:00 am—but Mapquest said it was 29 minutes, 20.2 miles away. Dozens of passengers departed before me and we made our way to baggage claim. I used the restroom and returned to the carousel to find my hot pink suitcase sitting all by its lonesome by the belt… no other bags in sight. The bag and I headed to the curb to hail a cab, where cab driver Damona Szada whisked me off to the hotel with a minute to spare: we arrived at 8:59.
Serendipity! We were at the right place at the right time.
The next morning, I prayed that God would help me meet a particular woman. “Lord, I need Jeannie Burlowski. Please send her my way!” A few hours later, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time: instead of being seated in a classroom, I was wandering by the elevators. I heard Jeannie’s distinctive voice coming around the corner, “I wondered why it was taking me so long to get down to breakfast,” she said. “Maybe God’s got someone for me to meet!”
Serendipity!
You might believe in coincidences, you might believe in God-incidents. Regardless, can you recall a serendipitous moment, an accidental event that turned the tide? Did you feel that the eyes that made the universe were glancing your way?
Do you look for the opportunity to be someone else’s good luck charm? Letting someone cut in front of you at the intersection. Opening a door. Offering a job. A price adjustment. An early delivery.
We may never know how our actions impact the lives of others, including Ms. Jones. But I agree with Sir William Temple, who said, ““When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don’t, they don’t.”
