Post for January 10, 2012:  Coincidence?  I think not!

Sorry this is late. I’ve spent several frustrating days because I was trying to write with my head and not my heart.  Rereading my introduction also reminded me that my intent is to write about my relationship with God; keep things on a level people can relate to.  I’ve been told that the best witness for God that we can give is our own testimony, so here goes…the short version of how I got here.

The year is 1989.  I’ve been apart from God since 1968 when I made the mistake of judging God by the hypocrites who claimed to serve Him. I’ve also been divorced for over 3 years and my ex-wife has moved to Colorado with our two children.  I am extremely frustrated at work, depressed when I’m not drinking and I'm even attending group therapy sessions; but that only fuels my contempt for others.  I meet a woman from Texas through the Alaska Men’s Magazine (this was long before eHarmony and Match.com).  We hit it off and in March of 1990 she came up to visit and I also went down to visit her.  I decide I can’t bear to be apart from her and choose to quit my job and move to Texas rather than stay in Alaska at a job I have come to despise.  (You know it’s time to move on when you walk into the computer room and give serious thought to how much damage you could do before Security could stop you!)  Overly optimistic and short-sighted as most males are, I figured there would be no problem finding work and in the mean time I could live off my retirement account.  So in August of 1990 I leased my house to a friend, packed most of my belongings into a U-Haul and drove to Texas.

Fast forward to October, 1991.  The relationship is not over, but it is not flourishing, (totally my fault).  I’ve been in my own apartment since December of 1990; have not found work and have run through the $90K in my retirement account in addition to selling some property I had in Alaska and a bunch of gold and silver coins.  I’m down to my last $400 and wondering how I’ll pay the rent next month.  On a whim I called one of the folks I used to work with.  He mentioned that they still hadn’t found a replacement for me.  He said the company went through internal hiring processes and external hiring processes and even made offers to two individuals.  Both applicants declined the offer!  I asked him if they would let me apply for my old job.  They did.  I was re-hired and because I was hired out-of-state, they even paid to move me and all of my possessions back to Alaska!

Meanwhile, back in Texas, my lady friend has gone back to church and renewed her relationship with God.  She convinces me to try it and recommends I look for a “charismatic” church.  There were only two of them listed in the yellow pages, so I picked one and went.  The worship was pleasant and instead of the “turn or burn” rhetoric I’d seen on TV, the pastor spoke on God’s love and mercy…things I was in sore need of.  I went back the next week, and the week after that and the week after that.  On Wednesday, Jan. 29^th, 1992, I rededicated my life to the Lord.  A couple months later, on Wednesday, April 1, 1992 I was water baptized.  I’ve been attending the same church ever since.

But this is not the end of the story.

In 1993, my son came up to visit his Grandparents and me.  He could tell I had changed; especially when I apologized to him for the way I had behaved towards him when his Mother and I were together.  It was enough to convince him to turn his life over to God.  His wife later told me that she would not have married him had he not given his life to God.  Because of his influence, my ex-wife and our daughter also gave their lives to God.  Through my daughter, her husband is now saved.  Both families are involved with the Worship Teams in their churches and between them have provided me with 5 beautiful grandchildren.

            But wait, there’s more!

In 1994 an attractive brunette from Fairbanks was attending a revival service at our church in Anchorage.  For some reason she gets bold enough to introduce herself to me.  We talk for a bit before the service and then she returns home.  Later that week someone hands me a large brown envelope with nothing inside of it and only a phone number and the words, “I think you’re supposed to call this number,” written on the outside.  It didn't even have my name on it!  Well, I called.  It was the phone number of the brunette!  That first conversation was a bit strange, but things progressed rapidly.  I proposed to her on New Years Day, 1995.  We were married June 7th of that year and will celebrate 17 years of marriage this summer!

Looking over this, I come to several conclusions.  First, God has a plan for my life.  Since He is no respecter of persons, that means He has a plan for your life too.  He also accomplishes His plan in the most amazing ways.  Where others see “coincidences”, I see the gentle Hand of God guiding us where we need to be.  I also see that God is a Restorer.  I had lost my family, my home, my financial security and my possessions and God has restored all of that and more.  God is also a God of second chances (and 3^rd and 4^th and…Nth chances).  My return to Alaska when I had turned my back on Him is proof of that.  (And it wasn’t easy keeping me here, but that’s a story for another time.)

Bottom line, if you’re feeling lost, if you’ve lost the people and things dear to you, if you need a second chance, lift your eyes to God and seek Him out.  He knows where you’ve been, He sees where you are now and He knows where He wants to take you.  All you need to do is ask.