Guidance

To the believer there are certain things in life that are just "God things". They may look like "extraordinary coincidence" to others, but in them we can clearly see the hand of God.

One time (I won't give details) I was hounding God, "How could you let this happen?" when I suddenly came across something I had written. I had asked God the same question then and had listed all the events that led up to that point that proved I was in the right place. Coincidence? No. Answer.

I'll give details on a more recent one. When I was serving in the Air Force I started to wonder if I should stay in. Benefits were being threatened and they were planning on putting new limits on retirement. I got a call from a friend who offered me a job in California. I still had two years on that enlistment and told him I couldn't do it. Besides, I couldn't afford to fly from New York to California for the interview. So, they sent the vice president of the company to interview me in New York. They offered me the job for $12,000/year more than what I hoped for. Still, I couldn't get out. Then the President announced a massive force reduction. Anyone who wanted out could go. So I applied. My boss told me, "No, we're building up here and we can't lose you. We need three more like you." Fine. No problem. Still, the Air Force gave me an honorable discharge and we headed for California.

When we arrived in California the company that had offered me the job told me, "We're sorry, but we can't hire you. we're laying people off." So there I was, out of the Air Force and no job. I got the newspaper and started searching. There was an ad for a company in Anaheim that sounded interesting. They interviewed me and we liked each other. "How did you find us?" they asked. I told them it was an ad in the paper. "We didn't put an ad in the paper." Interesting.

Now, I had a wife and two kids at the time, and my military insurance was due to expire. They told me that I wouldn't have benefits for 90 days. Well, okay. But on the day they hired me (for $15,000/year more than I anticipated) they waived the probation period. As it turned out my health insurance with the new company went into effect on the day my military insurance expired.

You may choose to see extraordinary coincidence. Me? I saw the hand of God, moving me from the Air Force and New York to a new company in California. I stayed at that company through hard times and massive layoffs, getting promotions, new tasks and assignments, and acquiring new skills, until my wife and I moved to Arizona. That experience gave me the skills to do the job I have now. I don't call it coincidence because it seemed to have intelligence behind it. It was direction. It was the hand of God. This kind of stuff may not happen a lot. It doesn't for me, at least. Still, it's nice, every so often, to see that happen. It's nice to have some concrete reminders from time to time that God really does love me.