Sometimes, God just has the most random sense of humor. One day awhile back I was out running some errands with my kids and it was just one of those days. You do everything right. You head out of the house early. You account for extra time to find the unusual things on your list, and for awhile, everything seems to be going just how you want it to. You even have time to swing by and pick up that one more thing. And then, as if someone flipped a coin, everything changes. You end up in a line that goes on forever. You find out that you picked up the ONE thing in the ENTIRE store that doesn’t have a UPC on it and it slows your progress right to a stop. Then, before you know it, you can feel the clock ticking, reminding you that you are now well on your way to running late.
By the time I got my kids dropped off to youth group, we were running several minutes late for youth group. However, unbeknownst to me, I was right on God’s time. After dropping off the kids I headed off to my final stop, the grocery store.
I got to the store. Parked in my favorite parking spot. (Yes, I’m one of those people, I have a favorite parking spot. Right next to the cart corral.) I got out and as I began walking around the car I hear this guy who had parked on the other side of the cart corral say, “I’ll be right back.” Thinking about how my day certainly didn’t work out in quite the way I planned, as he walked up near me I said to him, “Famous last words.” Then, as we walked towards the store I explained briefly about how things had been going so smoothly and swiftly for me and then came to a standstill making me late, so you just never know how things are going to go. A moment later we parted ways and I wandered off to get my shopping done.
I finished my grocery shopping and got my groceries all loaded up, I walked back around my car and climbed in. I was just about to head out when I happened to glance over to my left where I caught sight of something rather unusual. In the backseat of the vehicle on the other side of the parking corral was a skeleton.
After getting over my initial surprise at seeing a skeleton in the back of a car, nowhere near Halloween, I started to drive away. I made it maybe 100 feet before all the events of the day came together in my mind. The man saying, ‘I’ll be just a minute.’ Parked next to the cart corral. My reply, “Famous LAST words.” A skeleton, not a person, sitting in the car next to me. ‘Famous LAST words.’ And then, my brain exploded just a little bit.
One thing that made it so much crazier was that at one point, before we had even made it to the church before I dropped off my kids, I had been thinking about how God affects things to get us to exactly where we need to be and when we need to be there. Sometimes it’s because there is something we need to avoid and He is directing things around. Sometimes there is somewhere we need to be at a certain point in time. And sometimes we have what is called a God appointment. We have to be in a certain place at a certain time to be able to connect with a specific individual. But, of all of the times I have been led to moments or away from moments or people, I can’t say that I have ever been led to a moment quite like that. Where it seemed like God just wanted to give me a story and something to laugh about.
So, the next time you find your plans going a little awry, remember: Whether you are early or late, sometimes, God is going to make sure that you show up at exactly the right time to accomplish His purposes. Trust Him for the journey and pay attention. You never know when He is going to send something to laugh about your way!
Have you had a unexpected or funny moment of ‘divine timing’ that has just stuck with you? Please share your story below.
If you enjoyed this story, please share it with someone you know who might need a reminder that even in the strangest and most random of times, God is going to show up and say, ‘I’ve got this.’
Photo by Mel Seeley (This is the actual car and skeleton by the way.)
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