Coincidence?

Quote du jour: "Coincidence is the word we use when we can't see all the levers and pulleys" ~ Emma Bull

I refuse to title this post "My Vacation" because it always seems like a boast. "Ha, ha, I went on vacation someplace fabulous and had a fabulous time". Although I did go on vacation "someplace fabulous" and there were moments of "fabulous time", temper those words with the knowledge that I spent two days holed up in the MiddleofNowhere, Colorado while several feet of snow piled up around us, the major east-west highway (our route) remained closed, and that I just happened to be all alone in the subterranean geothermal caves when the power went out. AND that there are rattlesnakes in the desert and bears in the back country.

The last morning of my travels, as I prepared to leave a campground in the MiddleofNowhere, Colorado II, I went on 7AM walkabout looking for someone to pass along unused propane and food to. (All those leftovers that weren't going to get used - not worth paying the extra air freight on, but criminal to throw away) So there I was in the Mancos State Park with my trusty cup of coffee, offering our leftovers to some of the few other campers - there was still snow on the ground - in the park. One of the campers, a woman, peered closely at me - what little was visible under hat and upturned collar. "Is that a Ferry Beach mug?" she asked Are you a Ferry Beacher?" It was indeed a Ferry Beach mug. And I was indeed a Ferry Beacher. And she, her spouse and children were Ferry Beachers, also visiting Mesa Verde, also from New England. She's someone I know from the Mass Bay District. That's some coincidence considering that this was low season in Colorado and that no one in their right mind would go camping in April less than a week after a record breaking snowfall.

Is it really a coincidence? Or are there levers and pulleys at work in our world?

I don’t believe in pre-destination, I gave that up a long time ago, but I wonder about unseen forces of attraction that draw people together. I wonder about the drift toward one pole or another, I wonder about the 100th monkey syndrome. I wonder about those perfect moments that find each of us. I don’t know exactly what they might look like, but I think there are levers and pulleys at work. Maybe one of those levers looks like a seagull logo and another one looks like a chalice. We talk about church growth and church welcome and all the reasons we can think of for engaging fully in growth and welcome. I’ve got another one. When a new family shows up, or a new kid appears on Sunday morning, perhaps, just maybe, something unseen is at work. Perhaps the levers and pulleys look just like the face you see in the mirror every day.