In 1998, I started a personal home page while I was an AOLer.  Over the next few years, I edited the pages to include new ideas and links while deleting some of the old ideas and broken links.  My site moved from AOL to a user page on a smaller independent ISP and most recently to a new server with a new domain.  The page, as it currently is, is not updated often enough, but feel free to take a look.

One of the pages I added along the way is the story of my wife and I.  Not coincidentally, I titled that page There are No Coincidences with God.  It is my firm belief that every one of us experiences daily uncountable “non-coincidences”, but we don’t always see or recognize them.  These encounters might also be called graces or answered prayers or encounters with angels or any number of other descriptions.

My question(s) to you: What if there was no such thing as “coincidence”?  What if everything we experience is a part of God’s divine plan?  Would we look at our encounters and our personal choices differently?  Maybe not… but maybe!

A few years ago, even after posting the story of my wife and I to my web site, I began noticing more and more often that these “non-coincidences” seemed to occur more frequently than I ever realized.  But I also found that after a few days (or sometimes even a few short hours) I could only remember the more obvious and profound “non-coincidences.”  I lost track of many other “non-coincidences” and it bothered me.  Years ago, I used to journal my thoughts and ideas on an infrequent and irregular basis, so I decided to start up that practice again, but with exclusive regard to my “non-coincidence” experiences.

So I started up a new Word file on my computer and began to jot down some of my experiences.  After a number of months I had about ten or so entries in my journal, but it wasn’t until late October of 2008 that I realized two things after getting a phone call from a friend.  First, I still did not record all of my experiences.  Second, and more importantly, even those recorded experiences — for the most part — I did not share with anyone else.

I asked myself what good was I doing to track my own experience with “non-coincidences” if I didn’t share them with others? Sure, I added the There are No Coincidences with God idea to my web site and encouraged others to share their experiences with me*, but the real power to the idea that There are No Coincidences with God is in the ongoing reinforcement and personal witness of that idea.  It is not a one time experience never to be witnessed again.  Read Mt 5:14-16; Mk 4:21; Lk 11:33

*(I’ve only had one person e-mail me of his experience, but I chose to not re-publish others’ stories without the consent of all involved).

So, I decided to make this my first foray into true blogging.  I don’t claim to have any special knowledge, insight, or credentials and I am not necessarily looking to debate the theology or skepticism of those who question the existence of God.  Those who want to debate that idea should take a look at Three Steps to the Fountain and direct your arguments to the webmaster there.  All I can say is that I’ve witnessed the love of God and I absolutely believe that There are No Coincidences with God. I want to share these experiences with others and hear of their own.

Some of these instances will be more profound and significant than others, but none are insignificant. Some of my stories will be more personal than others and may contain comments or thoughts that make them seem childish or incomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t shared my personal experience.  An “inside joke” means nothing to the person on the outside.  That won’t make the encounter any less valid to me, so I choose to journal those as well.

I have no idea how often I will add new entries.  I guess that will depend upon how observant and in tune I am to the daily graces that I receive.  But I welcome any reflection or comments and invite you to share your own experiences which tell you in your heart that There are No Coincidences with God.  Let this blog be a sounding board for all who believe.

I have a number of past experiences in my journal that I will post here in the next few weeks and will move forward from there.

Praise God!