Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be
connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances
that has no more than five intermediaries. The theory was first proposed in
1929 by the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in a short story called
“Chains.”
Instead of using the word “coincidence”, I sometimes use “Godincidence”
because it describes those situations in life that happen according to the
divine ingenuity. I have had three such happenings occur to me the last
three months, so I decided to write about them.
Godincidence #1. I deployed to Afghanistan in May 2009. My parents were
visiting Colorado Springs in June, and my Mom stopped in a Supercuts, which
is unusual, since she goes to a shop in Denver. Whom did she meet there,
but my Chaplain boss! We were hoping they would meet before he deployed to
Afghanistan that month. I thank the Lord that Christ set up this
“happenstance” meeting.
Godincidence # 2. I'm ordained with the Vineyard Church USA. There are
only about five Vineyard military chaplains. Would you believe I was in my
office in Afghanistan, and who walked in? Another Vineyard chaplain whom
I've never met before! I was able to network her with other Vineyard
chaplains, so we have more connectivity. Thanks, Lord!
Godincidence #3. A nursing home in Ocala, FL has been sending us school
supplies for the needy Afghan children, and I’m not sure how they found me.
I emailed a couple I know from Colorado who now live in Ocala to see if it
was them. It wasn't, so I asked them if they knew the nursing home and Dee,
who was sending us supplies. They wrote back “We decided to go to a store
to pick up a couple of items. We don’t usually frequent this store, but they happen
to carry a particular brand of plastic storage bins that we like. As we came into the
front of the store, there was a table set up laden with groceries and a large
"Support The Troops" sign. Two ladies were at the table, so I immediately
came up and asked, "you gals don’t happen to know Dee, do you?" The one on
the left quickly stood up and said "that’s ME!" I almost cried! I gave her
a big hug and then told her about you and the school supplies. She was very happy
to know that you received them and told me to tell you that if you need more to let her
know. I was so blessed that I was able to meet her and tell her how much of
a blessing she is for helping our Soldiers and the children. God truly set that up!”
So, this gives you a glimpse how the Lord has been working in my life the
last several months. I can’t wait to see what other Godincidences He has
planned to encourage us!
