When I was a young girl, my grandmother had a friend that invested in me from afar. This woman was an exotic world traveler who would send me things from around the world in the mail. Each box contained a colorful postcard with a note detailing her adventures, listing fun facts about the country she went to with a doll or figurine made in that country. Even the packages were interesting- everything about her was interesting to me, a girl from the mountains. I am so thankful for her; she introduced me to a world of brightness and colorful life that I had never seen before. My mother kept these dolls in a cabinet in her room for me to look at and play carefully with. I was always intrigued by the ones from North Africa…which on reflection may be something of the prophetic now that I am here! This collection of world items grew and grew to include musical instruments and other trinkets from around the world, as my mom and dad took their journey of pouring a love of other cultures into me and my brother. I remember specifically one piece from this collection that I loved: a banglet that had shells on it, that would make noise when moved. I would always put it around my ankle and dance and run and move with it. I loved it so much- the colors, the sound, all of it, and I always danced with it when we pulled out the instruments to play with.
Fast forward 20 years later to my last day of school this year. Every year, my refugee school closes the exam week with a huge party; the students put together musical acts to perform before a community of about 250 people including staff, students, families, and neighbors from the African refugee community. This celebration was a piece of heaven for me in seeing people from so many tribes, nations, and tongues come together and worship and celebrate the work that the kids had done this year. Singing, vocal trilling, and dancing filled every corner of the space. One lady stood out to me in particular. She was wearing a green pantsuit and never stopped moving or smiling. I saw the same anklet that I had played with when I was a kid on the ankle of this woman- different colors, different shells, but the same nonetheless. She was stomping and running and dancing and going around until the bracelet broke off of her. There was so much joy in her expression and vigorous stomping. My eyes teared up as I tried to work the computer connected to the soundboard, and the room was full of joy and the presence of the Lord, amplified for me by a small impossible coincidence.
The subject of coincidence has been on my mind a lot the past few weeks. If God is a God that knits together my life at a molecular level, is anything that seems out of place ever put there incorrectly? These coincidences are present in my life to grab my attention- whether to inspire me to action or to just bless me and remind me of his presence in silent intimacy. With that in mind, they are slowly but surely solidifying my faith. I believe that in the whisper of an event that sets off my memory that God is calling me to intimacy. James 1:17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” In the midst of this busy season, God has been using moments like these to draw me into him to bless and encourage me, and has been developing my eyes to see these moments in their completed beauty. Though I cannot see the full tapestry of my life, I see instead the delight of God who knows how the story ends. That is more than enough for me.