Are there really coincidences in life?

I have been having a pretty tough time lately in many aspects of my life, but probably the biggest is the amount of work that I need to do for my job and how it gets in the way of the other things in my life.  I had so much to do this weekend (I had 2 sets of quizzes, 2 sets of small homeworks, 1 set of large homeworks and a set of in-class and take-homes to grade).  In addition, I had a few other things to do.  So I had planned to "skip" church on Sunday so I would have some more time to get things done.

Yet my son woke up on Sunday and asked me if we were going to go to church as he really wanted to go.  I told him it was a little late to get ready for early church but that we could go to late church.  As we made our way into church, many people greeted us with smiles and saying how glad they were to see us. 

Owen got to hear a children's message about being thankful for so much around us and that all the things around us are made possible by God.  He then went with the rest of the children to their "children's church."

We sang some pretty songs, we all had a good laugh when it was time for the offering as the baskets were not in their normal spots and we could put our offering "anywhere" up front, to which someone put theirs on top of the pastor's coffee cup.  Then we got to the "sermon."  Instead of the pastor doing the sermon, he made in an open mic about what we are all thankful for.  As I listened to people talk about what they were thankful for - someone in their family being saved during a horendous car accident, about being saved from cancer, having lost their job and a new one was found, about a family who was thankful for food being provided when they were out, it brought tears to my eyes.  One little girl said this which just made me smile:  "I'm thankful for God and Jesus because they are like magic!"  When I heard these people talk about what they were thankful for, the thing I was most thankful for at that moment was that my son is the one who wanted to go to church this morning and had I not, I would have missed out on all of this.  Is all the grading that I have to do really all that much of a "problem?"  At the end of the service we also had a father and son join the church and they were asked to "remember their baptism." 

At the end of the service I found Owen and asked him for a great big hug and thanked him for wanting to come to church today and that I loved him so much!

I don't think that this was just a coincidence.  I believe I was guided to be there on Sunday so that I too could remember what was most important and to remember my baptism as well.  I am thankful for this lesson that God has taught me!

"but with God, all things are possible."  Matthew 19:26