Coincidences Happen for a Reason

Sometimes things come together in a specific way and it almost seems like a crazy coincidence; It's so fitting for your life at that moment. Many times for me it's someone calling me when I was just thinking about them, or seeing a sign or billboard with a message that calms me or helps me with a problem I'm having at that moment. There are so many examples of this and many times it goes unnoticed.

Alex and I recently had one of those days where everything "clicked" into place and when we were discussing all of the "coincidences" that day Alex said to me, "you know Lauren, I think things like this are God's way of letting us know that we're not going unnoticed." I have always believed in the notion that everything happens for a reason, but I also feel that if something happens and you don't understand why you just have to have faith that the reason will become apparent in the future as part of God's plan for your life.

A couple of weeks ago we were planning on attending a small group session hosted through the Marriage Ministry team at our church. They had already hosted a few seminars earlier in the year that we weren't able to make it to because they're always held on Friday nights and we tend to travel quite a bit on the weekends. Finally, there was one we were able to make it to, so I put it on the calendar. Also happening the same evening was a small rock band concert featuring a guy that Alex works with. I had missed their debut show and was looking forward to hearing them play as well.

We decided that we'd go to the Marriage Ministry seminar and see if we had any time leftover to stop by the show. On our way to church it dawned on me that there was a reason the date was sticking out in my mind. It was Alex and I's quasi-anniversary of when we started dating 5 years ago. The topic for the evening just so "happened" to be stages of a marriage. Of course, I couldn't help but think about how many stages of our relationship we've already gone through during all of the time we've dated and been married. The evening was enjoyable for both of us and it was valuable, not only because of the priest's message, but also because we were able to listen and take advice from all of the married couples in the room as well.

As the meeting ended we made our way over to the outdoor concert. This was also a fitting way to reminisce about when we starting dating because the night that I gave Alex my phone number, we were at an outdoor rock concert/party where he was playing drums. Giving him my phone number was very out of character for me and not the best timing, but to this day I still remember how propelled I felt to give it to him. I truly believe it was God pushing me out of my comfort zone...

And every since then I've been pushed outside of my comfort zone to try new things and grow as a person by Alex. Now that is definitely no coincidence. Can't wait to see what the next 5 years bring.

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