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COINCIDENCE OR SOMETHING MORE?
Sometimes there are moments in life when things come together in a totally strange and inexplicable way. They simply do not fit into the normal pattern of events. When such things do occur, we usually try to account for them by simply saying, "Coincidence. An amazing coincidence"
Now, no doubt, some of the time that is the case. But…. after over seventy years of witnessing many, many such incidents, I can no longer lightly brush them all aside and blithely pronounce the occurrences as "mere coincidence". I have come to realize that in more than one case, forces completely unperceived by us, have played a definite role in what has taken place.
If you so choose, you may call that conclusion a "silly superstitious response" or the result of "an overactive imagination", but I have personally seen far too many examples of so-called coincidence to doubt what I'm saying. I have come to firmly believe that more often than we realize, unseen forces are at work in our lives in ways that we fail to recognize.
He was just a little fellow no more than five years old when it happened. We lived in Phoenix, Arizona at the time, and I'd taken our family into the desert for an outing. Since my wife and I were both into archery, we decided to spend the day at an archery range that was located at a remote spot in the desert. Though miles from any town, it still contained a club house, bathrooms, picnic tables and a much needed water fountain.
Upon arriving we discovered, as we'd expected, that we had the whole area to ourselves; not a soul was around. Kay, and I, with our young son, Flint, set out to shoot around the course which consisted of twenty-eight targets placed amid Saguaro cactus, mesquite thickets, brush covered arroyos, and patches of Palo Verde trees. By the time we'd finished, we were very hot and tired, so we returned to the clubhouse area looking forward to some cold drinks and a bite to eat.
While I sat at one of the picnic tables repairing the fletching on our arrows, Kay busied herself with preparing lunch. In the meantime, Flint had managed to find a small stick and was standing near the water fountain hitting his stick against a sizable rock. He was proudly wearing his cowboy hat, vest and shiny new boots; at his side was strapped his trusty six-shooter. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely as he acted out his manly life as a cowboy.
It was one of those days when everything seemed to be just perfect. A gentle desert breeze was softly stirring and the mild autumn temperatures were adding just the right touch. It seemed that nothing could have been more peaceful and pleasant... but as I sat there relaxing and feeling quite content, something unexplainable began to happen. A sudden feeling of uneasiness began to sweep over me. I didn't know why, but somehow I had the feeling that something wasn't right. I don't know how to describe it other than to say that it was an inner sensation of alarm!
Standing to my feet, I looked around but couldn't see any reason for feeling the way I did. And then… without any logical explanation… I simply knew that this feeling of uneasiness was related to my son. Quickly I walked over to where he stood playing ,,, and immediately the reason became shockingly apparent. Not six inches from Flint's little leg lay a diamond back rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike!
In as steady a voice as I could muster, I told Flint not to move. Quickly picking up a nearby stick I swiftly pinned its head to the ground. It was then a simple matter to grab it behind the head and remove it.
Thinking this was an excellent occasion to teach my son an important lesson, I proceeded to explain the potential danger, and what to do and what not to do about such things in the future. I'm afraid, however, that I didn't get the message across very well. When I was all finished, his response was to tell me, "Daddy, that was really neat!".
He then asked me if I'd show him how to find one, so he could catch it and pick it up just like I did.
Was it only coincidence that alerted and led me to discover the dangerous reptile before my son was struck by those fangs? I think not. To this day I'm convinced that something else … or should I say someone else was on hand … orchestrating exactly what happened.
"But angels are only servants
They are sent from God to care for those who
will receive salvation." Hebrews 1:14
Posted by cdrnorth at July 15, 2005 7:55 PM