Pep Talk: "Be Somebody's Coincidence"

A dear friend grew up religiously roughed up. At nearly 60, that experience sours the Colorado native’s belief in a higher power. We have interesting conversations about what he considers “coincidences” versus what your scribe would call, “God things.” I look forward to our next debate and sharing the latest example that, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

Here goes. It was a Sunday. I was driving back from the mountains and looking forward to coordinating a moving crew for a beloved couple downsizing to a smaller place. I needed to make two stops to fetch three A Stronger Cord dudes. Also on the calendar, attending an early evening meeting for blood cancer research funding. The schedule was tight with no margin for unexpected detours.

First a whine, then a wobble and finally, the smell of burning rubber. My car’s right-rear tire had shredded. For a weekend day on Denver’s west side, traffic was busy on east-bound Sixth Avenue between Wadsworth and Sheridan. It took a while to steer the disabled vehicle from the far left-hand lane to the narrow and litter-strewn shoulder on the right side.

This was not in the plans. Changing a tire along the shoulder of a busy highway is a pain. Especially when unable to remove lug nuts from the blown tire. Greasy, sweaty and angry, after 45 minutes of trying, I gave up. What next? I called a buddy who owns a repair shop, Elder Auto. He was out of town visiting family but advised, “Call Dick's Towing. But considering it’s a Sunday, don’t expect them to get there too quickly.”

He was right, sorta. The dispatcher said, “It’s gonna be at least 90 minutes.” After a good round of cursing fate and making calls to secure someone else to transport the other movers, I settled in to wait for the tow truck. With the noon-time sun warming considerably, vehicles whizzed by at high speed, kicking up dust and grime. I slumped against the tall sound barrier separating a nearby neighborhood from the noisy arterial into the Mile High City from western suburbs. I was stuck and, seemingly, out of luck.

What to do? I had time to kill. I grabbed a Bible from the car. I’m a big fan of the 29th chapter of Jeremiah and, paraphrasing, “God having a plan for us; to prosper and not harm us; if we seek him wholeheartedly.” Here’s where it got interesting. Not two or three minutes into reading those passages, the loud blare of a horn startled me. The tow truck had arrived!

“I live right around the corner,” said driver Robert, when asked, “How’d you get here so fast?” The day had no more glitches. Thanks to the help of many, duties and responsibilities were kept. Was it luck? Or something else? This knucklehead would call it a “God Thing.” For anybody, even my skeptical buddy, it’s a good thing.

This week, let’s eagerly serve others and be somebody’s coincidence. The benefits are out of this world.