Coincidence? A true story.

Is there anything that God does not have His hand in? I think not. Even shopping. I just have to share this story with you because I find it very characteristic of the way God works.

Last evening, D.T., his brother, and I went out shopping for a few last minute things that his brother wanted to take back with him to Romania. I won't tell you where we went because that might spoil some surprises ;-) but I do want to tell you a little bit about the lady who helped us at one of the stores. She was very nice. She had waited on me and D.T. in the past, and she remembered us. She gave us excellent customer service! Beyond that, though, we had the chance to chat a bit. She discovered that D.T. and his brother were from Romania (the accents kind of gave a clue), and she started to tell us about someone she used to know from the college in our town who was from Romania... who by the way, D.T. and his brother knew. Cool. Then, she told us a bit about her college experience and that one of her passions was painting. She asked us if we wanted to see some of her work, and she proceeded to pull out a notebook of her drawings. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!

I was able snap a quick picture of two of her
drawings in the back of her book. The one on the right
is obviously very cultural, and the one on the left
is a still, but she also did some gorgeous
landscapes and florals. The detail is phenomenal,
although I am not sure how much you can tell from this picture.

So, I asked her if she ever does any painting for anybody else, and that we might want to have a mural painted in our home someday. I said that it would be for a nursery, and she got a strange look on her face. She said, "But, you're not... you don't look like you are...". Bless her heart, what a compliment! Now, there have been plenty of times in my overweight life that people have thought that I did look... when I wasn't, and boy did that hurt on multiple levels. Anywho, I explained that we were hoping to adopt, and that I would love to call her someday if she was interested in the work. I've had my eye out for a long time for somebody with better drawing skills than me (trust me... that doesn't take much!) and she more than meets the qualifications!!! How exciting!

We continued to talk, and in the course of the conversation, she shared that she was currently in her mid-40's, her husband was in his early 50's, and that they had two daughters, the oldest being eight years old. She had that first daughter in her late 30's. There is 8 years age difference between her and her husband. Sound familiar??? Seriously? She could have been living my life. It was pretty amazing, though. I asked her a few questions about how she and her husband each responded to parenthood at their respective ages then and now, and she was very encouraging. Of course, I know that neither of us are that old, but honestly, it is one of my greatest concerns. Waiting on God to act. Wondering when. What will it be like... now... and then. Will we be able to handle it?

God is so amazing. I mean, who walks in to a store and finds someone who can provide a service (what we were planning to buy), fulfill a need (painting a mural), knows people that you know (from halfway across the world!), has the same age difference between them and their spouse as there is between you and your husband, and had their children at an older age???

Coincidence?

I think not. I think God knew I needed a bit of encouragement.

THE END.

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...