Coincidence or Orchestration?

Some things are just too coincidental, or as I like to believe – not coincidental at all. More like, Someone greater than ourselves is in control and He orchestrates many things. One such incident of orchestration happened this week to my youngest son.

My sons’ dad (my first husband) passed away on Thanksgiving in Nebraska. Both Daniel and Caleb had flown in to see their dad over the Labor Day Weekend, knowing his condition was becoming more unstable. Daniel lives on the west coast; Caleb on the east.

When I spoke to Caleb this past week, I could tell things were not going well. Dean, their 3 1/2-year-old autistic son was having a very difficult week. Because he is non-verbal, it’s nearly impossible to know why he’s crying and continuously hitting his head on the floor. No one was sleeping, everyone was on edge, and it was looking to Caleb like he wasn’t going to be able to come for his dad’s service. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone, so he was more stressed than ever.

I felt that what Caleb was battling was more than just a run of discouraging episodic adversities. He admitted to being down spiritually too. “The more I pray, the worse it seems to get,” he told me. When we are down trodden, it’s hard to remember we have strength we can fall back on other than our own. In these times when we feel especially vulnerable or weak, those are the times we can rely upon the Lord’s mighty power. I encouraged him to read Ephesians 6 and to put on the armor of God so he could stand firm against the tricks of the Devil. (verses 10-11) The Roman soldier’s belt held everything he needed for hand-to-hand combat, (sword, rope, ration, sack, darts) and the spiritual belt of truth mentioned in theses verses holds everything together the Christian needs for spiritual battle. We are also to put on the breast plate of righteousness that protects our heart, the shoes of the gospel of peace that provides stability and traction in tense situations, the shield of faith that deflects the arrows shot at us from Satan, the helmet of salvation that protects our minds. Last but not least we pick up our sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), to finish out our armor when fighting Satan. (The devil hates Scripture because he knows it’s the truth.)

Dean was put on medicine for a possible ear infection and given hydroxyzine (non-narcotic) to help him sleep. Steph felt like she could handle things now that Dean was being treated and was settling down.

Post mortem services always consist of …. some hard times….and some good times. The boys – both living on opposite coasts have had little opportunity to stay connected with cousins that all live in the Midwest. Maybe, that’s why the oldest cousin, Amy, decided to give the boys each a Christmas gift while they were together. It had been nearly 20 years since these cousins had been together and they knew little of each other’s daily lives and struggles. She picked out two totally different kinds of gifts for her cousins. When Caleb texted me a picture of his gift, he called it “awesome.” And indeed it was, sending goosebumps down my spine. It was one of those gifts when you say….”How did you know?” I don’t see this as a coincidence. I find it much more plausible that it was Amy listening to the Spirit inside of her and then obeying. What she sat down in front of Caleb was a very unique gift. I have never seen one – a statue representing the Full Armor of God along with a pack of devotional cards with the same theme. What might this have all said to Caleb? I guess we’d have to ask him that question, but it seems to me it would have brought reassurance that God hasn’t forgotten him; that He’s there through the good and the bad times. Whatever came to mind for Caleb, I’m sure he was in need of it.

Until next time…Keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.