Serendipity

Last night I returned from Biloxi, where the only gambling I did was with my life as I was exposed to an abundance of cigarette smoke as I walked through the casino to get to the convention center where our fall meeting was held. Overall, our convention went well and our members seem pleased. I was grateful to get home in time to watch Alabama exact its revenge on Mississippi State.

I love how God often reminds me that He is indeed in control and knows what He's doing. On Wednesday, shortly after arriving at the hotel, a co-worker and I were asked to drive to the airport in Gulfport and pick up a guest speaker who was flying in from Tennessee. Due to some less than accurate directions from a waitress at the hotel, we ended up taking the scenic route to the airport. Because we were a few minutes late, my co-worker called the guest speaker to let him know that we were on our way. To our surprise, the speaker was still at home--turns out that he wasn't due to fly in until Thursday.

It was rather annoying to discover that we'd driven all the way to the airport for nothing, but it actually ended up being a good thing. When we got into the car we discovered that someone had left the overhead light on, so if we had not had to take a drive that afternoon, chances are we would not have discovered the light on until we were ready to head back to Montgomery days later, and by that point the battery would most likely have been drained.

I can't help but laugh at this little serendipitous moment that occurred in the middle of a frustrating drive. Once again, God reminded me that not everything is as it seems--He has a purpose for everything that occurs, no matter how seemingly meaningless--and He can take frustrating moments and turn them around for good.