Do You Believe in Divine Appointments?

I do! I try very hard to be aware of when they take place. I had one such divine appointment last week. It started out as a quick stop for some dinner after a busy Tuesday. We went to a local pizza place and it was "kids night" so it was kinda busy. I passed a table of three young girls and a lady that I thought was probably their grandmother. One of the girls stopped me and asked, "Do you work at _______?" (Insert a local school name, which I won't say for safety issues.) I answered, "No, but I'm at ____ occasionally because I have lunch with some of my church kids. Do you work at _____?" She laughed and said, "No, I'm in the 2nd grade there." I introduced myself to the girls and their companion and made some small talk and then proceeded to get my pizza.

As Randy and I sat back down at the table next to theirs, the girls kept engaging us in conversation and asking questions about some of the kids from their school that go to our church. They were in 3rd, 2nd and 1st grades and each seemed to know every child I named off. The 2nd grader came over to our table and began to share her life story. They live with their step-grandmother who was with them. The grandfather died a couple of years ago. Their father was in prison for drugs and their mother had deserted them when they were babies and did not know where she was. They go to their biological grandmother's house every other weekend in a small town near by. They had such a sad story but were three of the sweetest girls and had such joyful spirits.

I shared some up coming events at the church including our Mega Sports Camp and the grandmother seemed very interested. I gave them my card and told them to give me a call if they had any questions. The grandmother gave me their phone number and welcomed me to call them. I asked the grandmother if I could take the girls' picture so I could put it on my office bulletin board so I could remember to pray for them. She didn't hesitate in saying yes even though when you think about it it is kind of a weird request from a stranger! I wish I could put their faces here but don't think it would be a good idea...just know they are three beautiful girls that made my day.

I told them I would be at their school the next day for a lunch date and they promised to watch for me and come and say hi in the lunch room. Sure enough, during the 25 minutes I was in the lunchroom, I saw all three of them and received hugs and introductions to other friends. I was leaving and heard my new 3rd grade friend tell one of my church kids, "I'm gonna start coming to your church!"

I'm so thankful. I can see the hand of God in each part of that meeting; His favor that I can go into the schools, the night we chose to stop for pizza, the fact that I was going to their school the very next day and how they knew each of the kids I mentioned. It will be exciting to see how God will continue to work in this!