mundane or extraordinary?

writing my last post reminded me of what i wanted to write about last sunday but forgot so here goes. i’m pretty tight with the young women’s presidency with whom i serve. on most sundays i can be found dining with our president’s family.

last sunday wasn’t any different other than the visit we were to make to a couple of our young women- who happen to be sisters. at about 7pm our first counselor sheri arrived to pick amy and i up. we talked a bit at the house before leaving. we were going over to visit these two sisters (who are often absent) to say hello and invite them to our fun upcoming tuesday activity.

when we drove up to the house there were 3 cars taking up their driveway. one car wasn’t theirs but looked like it belonged to one of the girl’s friend. we parked behind the friend’s car and proceeded to the front of the large dimly lit home.

it took a couple minutes before someone came to the door. we heard short voices in the house and then saw someone quickly look through the long window to the right of the door. a high school aged girl answered the door. she wasn’t part of the family we were wanting to visit but she claimed she was house sitting for them. and she mentioned she didn’t know when the family would be back. this girl seemed a little uneasy as she spoke.

when we turned around to leave, a young teen-aged boy was coming toward us. the girl was a bit startled to see him and tried to quickly close the door. we almost ran into him as he stared at his phone (reading or texting). he didn’t make eye contact but mumbled that he was looking for a different house number. he turned around and walked and across the street.

all these events were fluttering red flags that something wasn’t right. so after we got into sheri’s car, we hung around a little debating what we should do. we weren’t sure if the girl was in danger or if she had just been caught trying to sneak a boy into the house. so, we drove down the street to follow him. we saw him walking into the park adjacent to the house.

he was still walking away from the same exact spot when we made a second pass behind the cement path he took. we decided to go back to the house, knock on the door and make sure the girl would be safe after we left. amy went up to the door while we waited in the idling car parked in front of the house. as she walked to the door we saw, in the shadows of the driveway, the silhouettes of 2 girls sneaking around the cars careful to avoid amy. i recognized the second shadow as the girl we had just met. they made their way to the end of the driveway and took off running toward the park.

what was my point in recording this story? i’m not sure. however, i am sure that there was a ‘reason’ we arrived at this family’s house at this specific time and on this specific day; a reason that i can’t define.

there have been other times in my life when intersections like these have happened. connections made in meeting and interacting with people, for short or long periods of time, have turned out to be learning and growing experiences. the giving and taking of knowledge, skills, emotions, words and actions between people can be seen as commonplace but when too many 'coincidences' come together, i am prone to feel that they have not occured by happenstance.

the people i met as a missionary in new york would fall into this category for me. the people i've met in this ward, and the man who took home a shower in the back of his truck and parked it right in front of my front window when i was in desperate need of replacing a bath surround of a rental property i had in washington (once a upon a time) is another.

i choose to believe that these convergences are answers to prayers for ourselves or for others made by ourselves or by others.