I don't believe in coincidence

This post has a title, whereas I don't believe any of my other posts possess one. It's a meaningful title for a (hopefully) meaningful post. Tonight I had composed a rather lengthy entry on the iPad. I created a new tab so that I could attribute a quote to the correct person. When I returned my post was gone and no draft was saved. Coincidence - I don't believe so. Overdramatization is not my intention here, but I do believe that God guides us daily, particularly in the important times of our lives. I also don't intend to unpack a theological treatise that I don't really understand, nor do I intend to spark a debate. I just believe that within the framework of free will that God has given us he also places us in times and places with specific people because he wants us there. In short, I believe there is purpose for our situations. 

The quote that I was searching was "never let a good crisis go to waste."  I found that this quote is generally attributed to Rahm Emanuel, whose political positions are irrelevant at this time. This quote is also associated with Albert Einstein, Hillary Clinton, and somebody from the 15th century whose website caused safari to crash and not save my other post. I like this quote, though, because it provides hope in a time of difficulty, especially when we feel powerless. When I think of crisis I think of pain, suffering, trauma, chaos, doubt, fear - things that we all feel from time to time. From crisis, though we can also embrace the transformative power of opportunity and the comforting knowledge that we are exactly where God wants us, when He wants us there, and with the people He wants.

Don't think for a moment that I want or welcome crisis. To the contrary, I think my heart could do with a little less crisis at the present moment. However, the crisis that we experienced starting at the beginning of this blog, when Cathy was diagnosed with cancer, has opened the doors to tremendous loving opportunities that I would have otherwise missed. It has provided for a reshaping of my life and the organization of our family that will be more in line with what I believe God wants for our family. 

I don't know where to go with this next and it is not a coincidence that Cathy just told me how tired she is. Therefore I will stop. Perhaps I will have more on this later. Maybe not. There is plenty of crisis going around right now for everyone to cultivate their own thoughts with my little seed.