I don’t believe in coincidence. One proof that backs up this belief is in the story of the man who was in his last hours of life with no friends or family to be with him. It was no coincidence that the nurse who was caring for him called her friend, who was a priest, and asked if he’d come and sit with the man in his final hours on earth. He told his friend, the nurse, he could be there in ½ an …hour, yet due to an accident and road work, it took 3 hours. It was no coincidence that he terminally ill man was still alive and quite coherent when he arrived.
The priest sat patiently and talked with the man, even though the man refused to respond and told him of God’s goodness and continued to ask him if there was anything he needed to share in his final hours. Even though the man continued to refuse to talk, it was no coincidence that the man lived far more hours than was anticipated and the priest kept talking and asking if he wanted to share anything. It was no coincidence that, after many hours, the patient began to share a story he’d never shared. He shared that he’d carried a guilt-ridden memory his whole life. He told of how his job was working on the train lines and, being drunk one night, he switched the tracks incorrectly.
His mistake caused a freight train, later that night, to crash into a car of a passenger train, killing a husband, wife and 2 little girls. It was no coincidence that the priest’s eyes filled with tears and his throat with such a lump that it took him minutes to be able to speak again. It was no coincidence that, when he did speak, he said, “I was an infant when that accident took place. I was not on the train. The couple that was killed by the incorrect switch of the tracks were my parents…. and the little girls were my sisters.” It was no coincidence that, after a few moments of silence, the priest said, “I forgive you. And if I can forgive you, God forgives you.”
There are no coincidences. Let us remember that as we take on our day. It will not be coincidence that we will cross the paths we will cross today. What if we all remembered that as we cross each person’s path we cross?