Coincidences? I Think Not.

I had never truly realized how faithful God was or is until that January night in 2008.  Like any other night, my husband and I were enjoying our meal together.  The phone rang, I answered and told my husband that his son wanted him to come over for a few minutes.  That was not unusual.  Our son probably needed some help with a project or something.  Within the hour, my husband returned, sat down by me and said, “The kids are coming over in a few minutes.  We have to talk about something.” 

Those few words caused fear to race through me.  I knew then and there what was about to happen. My suspicions would be confirmed.

“How bad is it?” were the only words that left my mouth.

“Not as bad as it could be.” was his answer.

Try as I may, I cannot remember what happened between the time he made his announcement and the moment our kids quietly walked through the door.  But I do remember my complete and utter surprise when a son and his wife from out of town arrived along with the other kids.  “Hi Mom’s” were followed by hugs. Finally, we were all seated and quiet.  The silence broke when a son looked at his dad and said, “Dad, I think there is something you need to tell us.”  Thus it began.

“I did some inappropriate touching.”

I will spare the details of the conversation that evening, but the following events that had happened years before were extremely instrumental in what happened next.

1.       A niece, who lived in New York State, voluntarily takes a bump from a domestic flight in exchange for a free round trip ticket to anyplace in the U.S.

2.       She is a mental health counselor.

3.       She is an avid hiker.

4.       Some of our kids and my husband plan a school break hiking trip. 

5.       Our niece discovers the planned trip and arranges to join the family.  She has a free ticket.  Amazing!

6.       Female family member on the hike has been dealing with the trauma of being molested during her childhood years.

7.       These two women develop a relationship during the few days on the trail that ultimately leads to very beneficial long-distance therapy.

Now, let’s go back to my husband’s comment about inappropriate touching.  Those words were barely out of his mouth before we heard from a very quiet member of the family, “Papa, that doesn’t tell us a thing. You have to own what you did.”  Whoa, her comment was completely unexpected.  As he tried to avoid the uncomfortable situation he faced, she again spoke up. “Let me tell you what is like to be that little girl.”  She looked directly at him and told him exactly what it was like.

Much later that evening I prayed, “Thank you, Lord.  Thank you.” You see, I had been unable to fall asleep so I had gotten up to sit in the dark.  My mind played and replayed the words that had been spoken that night and who said them.  Slowly I became both aware of and awed by what God had done in preparation for that encounter.  A family hiking trip, free airline ticket, counselor niece, abused family member had all been stirred together in an improbable mix. Time, much prayer and hard work had begun much needed healing.  That healing led to unbelievable courage and the ability to put pain aside and speak truth. 

“Let me tell you what it is like to be that little girl” were the words that, after everyone was gone, ultimately led my husband to stare at the carpet and ask, “What have I done?”

Coincidences?  I think not. As painful as that night was, God began to unwrap and disclose all the work he had done to prepare us for this time.  As I will say over and over again, our God is a faithful God.  He is also the Lord God Almighty.