Jill Johnson
By JILL JOHNSON
Have you ever had those moments where you just KNEW God placed the right person, at the right time, in your path?
Well, I have. Some people might call it a coincidence, but I know it's God.
My husband recently came in from getting a haircut. The younger girls were admiring his short, and I mean very short, hair. They noticed a scar on the back of his head. He told them the story of how he got that scar.
He and his younger brother were in the car with their mom on a very stormy night. Wayne was about 7, and his brother was maybe 3. Their car hydroplaned, and both he and his brother were thrown out of the car. (This was long before seatbelts were required.)
Wayne said the first voice he heard was his uncle's. He drove up after the wreck happened, went to help, and didn't even know at the time that it was his sister-in-law and nephews in the car. The first person to come up after the wreck was a familiar voice and face to two young, scared boys and their mom. That is not a coincidence - that is God.
I can think of a time when our three children were elementary school-aged, and Wayne had lost his job. Money was very tight, and school was about to start. Of course, all the kids needed new school supplies.
It was a Sunday afternoon, and Wayne and I were having a conversation about money and school supplies. He asked me how much money I thought I might need for the supplies, and I answered probably $100. Wayne's answer was that I might have to ask my parents. He then left to take the kids to children's choir practice.
When he came back home, he brought me an envelope. When he had dropped the kids off at church, someone handed him an envelope and said they were asked to give it to us. That envelope had exactly $100 in it. That is not a coincidence - that is God.
Another time that stuck out to me was just in the last few years. We were trying to get our disabled daughter into a program that would best suit her needs and have the assistance she required. We were trying to get scholarships from different places, as this type of care is costly. We were not having any success.
I was quite discouraged and down about the entire situation. I remember texting a friend who had asked how it was going. My exact words were “Sometimes life is just heavy. That’s all there is to it. It’s heavy but not without hope. I’m not sure if the grant is going to work out. I’m just praying that Wayne and I both will have a peace about this either way. I will be broken-hearted if this doesn’t work out because we both want the best quality of life for Missie, but I have to believe if this is what God wants, it will work out. It is completely out of my control and in God’s hands.”
I hit send at 10:02, and at 10:04 I received a text from a different friend from work who I had asked to pray about this situation. Here is what her text said. “Hi Jill, did you get the grant? I’ve been talking to a friend about your situation, and she has a heart for this type of thing. If you don’t get the grant, she wants to donate $3,000 to help. Hopefully that would help with the extra cost per month.” That was not a coincidence - that was God.
I realize these seem to be "big" ways that God shows up, but there are so many little ways throughout each and every day that are not coincidences, but God.
Maybe it's a word of encouragement, a song on the radio, a post on social media, or just lunch with a friend. We must take every moment of each day and trust that God is present and faithful as we walk with Him. Psalms 37:23 says, "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him."
Sometimes God shows up in the big, undeniable moments. Other times, He meets us in the small, everyday details. Both are reminders that He has never stopped being faithful.
Let's walk through each day with our eyes wide open, looking for the ways God is with us in the extraordinary moments and the simple, everyday ones. That's not a coincidence - that's GOD.
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Jill Johnson finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, and Georgian. Jill is retired from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
