COOL COINCIDENCE or TENDER MERCIES?

What do you call it when something happens that is just so amazing in timing or happenstance that you can hardly believe it? Is it just an accident, a coincidence? The stars aligning just right? People thinking alike, being in the same mode? Or is it something more? Could it be perhaps God smiling on us and helping us with little things just to let us know He's aware of us? Little reminders of His love?

Wow--some of the things that happen are pretty amazing, though. I had one happen to me two weeks ago. My youngest sister is attending the university in our town and asked us to attend her orchestra concert. My parents, brother (who happened to be in town) and I planned to attend (my family's church Christmas party was the same night, so my husband and I had to split up because we would have had all-out mutiny on our hands if we had made our younger children miss the visit from a Certain Jolly Someone).

However, my parents and I ended up ordering our tickets separately earlier that week, so even though we drove down to the concert hall together, we were resigned to the fact that we wouldn't be sitting together during the concert.

So while my dad and brother went to park the car, my mom and I went to the ticket office to pick up my parents' tickets, since I already had mine. When she got them, here's what we saw:

Yes, seats 1,2,3 and 4 in Section J. Out of probably 400 seats in the concert hall, we 'happened' to get four all together. So what do you think? Chance? A mere coincidence? Or God's hand in our lives? I know what I believe, but either way, I said a prayer of thanks in my heart as we walked in and enjoyed sitting together.

If you are interested in reading more about tender mercies, follow this link and read up. It's an awesome talk!