I spent most of the morning wandering around and easily distracted. I decided to make a cup of tea to “center” my thoughts.
I went to fill the tea kettle and it had mineral build-up in it.
I went to the cleaning cabinet to get the vinegar and realized my feet were cold and I wanted to put on a pair of socks (I was in the laundry room so there was a reasonably logical train of thought going on).
There weren’t actually any warm socks in the laundry room so I went to the bedroom…and forgot the vinegar…
And so on and so on…I will spare you the entire journey that ends with me (just now) realizing (as I sip my ice water) that I never actually turned on the tea kettle (now cleaned) to make a cup of tea.
Anyway, back to what I started writing about…
I like “signs”.
Not the actual, physically present signs – like stop signs or street signs – although those are indeed important.
It’s not that I don’t like them. I’m just not writing about them now.
Sigh.
Well, I am writing about them, but that’s not the point.
This is what I’m trying to talk about -signs, omens, coincidences, serendipity – things that are randomly happening and then “magically” come together in a way that makes it all seems planned and purposeful and meaningful.
Let me explain…or try to because it’s obviously going to continue to be one of those days.
I wrote a blog about saying hello…
And then I followed that blog with a post about serendipity.
And today, since nothing else was going the way it was supposed to, I decided to write a couple of letters and follow through with what I suggested.
I decided to say hello.
But I wasn’t sure who to say hello to.
I went and looked in my email files to see who I might have written to at one time that I hadn’t written to in a long time.
And I found an address for someone in Lithuania that I shared some snail mail with over two years ago. Actual mail once. Not a close friend. Just an encounter.
But hey, I’ll write a quick hello. She might think I’m a little crazy, but that’s okay. Today, I feel a little crazy.
First, I decided to go check out her blog that I used to follow, but now realize doesn’t show up in my inbox anymore.
I’m reading her last post and about midway through I run across a word that I love, but don’t use very often.
Until a couple of days ago.
In a post about saying hello.
A post about writing a quick note to someone.
The word?
Serendipity.
You may say that it’s just a coincidence.
You may be right.
I’m going to choose to look at it another way.
I believe that God sends us direction and encouragement in signs that we often fail to see…mainly because we quit looking or are looking in the wrong direction.
You may not believe in signs or you may not believe in God.
Or perhaps you believe in signs but have a different belief system that helps you understand them.
This could turn into a theological discourse if I chose to get distracted, but not today.
(other than to say that quibbling over terminology and names and minutiae is unbelievably distracting and pointless, so I don’t think we all need to agree about everything in order to meaningfully communicate)
Today, I am choosing to have joy in what has happened.
A sense that I am connected to and participating in something bigger than myself.
A hint that I am doing something I am supposed to do.
A purpose.
Something as simple as saying hello.
And building community and social contacts and friendships.
Hey Kelly, I somehow managed to delete your comment on my last post. Totally didn’t mean to! Thank you for what you said. I found it very encouraging. To walk in who I am now, and accept it along with finding joy in the darkness. Means a lot, so thank you again. And thank you for sharing a little more about yourself. Have yourself a great night.
FaithAcre Studio | Kelly Barrow 
Yes I too love the Signs, coincidence, serendipity God gives me!
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Hey Kelly, I somehow managed to delete your comment on my last post. Totally didn’t mean to! Thank you for what you said. I found it very encouraging. To walk in who I am now, and accept it along with finding joy in the darkness. Means a lot, so thank you again. And thank you for sharing a little more about yourself. Have yourself a great night.
LikeLiked by 1 person