As I pulled into the parking lot at church, I was greeted with a “We Love Our Grandparents” sign.
My heart sank and I thought, “Great, just what I needed to see.”
I was already having a difficult morning missing my Grandmother who had passed away unexpectantly earlier that year. I felt like the sign was some kind of cruel joke reminding me that my Grandma was no longer with me.
As I pulled into a parking spot, I noticed the car that had been following me had pulled in behind me. An elderly woman I had never seen before got out of the car while I slowly gathered my things before opening my car door. I wasn’t in a socializing mood. My plan was to walk into church, slide into a back pew and get as much out of the service as I could that Sunday morning.
I knew I certainly needed it.
As the woman passed my car, I opened my door and noticed she had stopped and was looking at me.
“Looks like we’ve been following each other,” she said.
I smiled and said, “I thought that was you following me.”
She came over, put her arm around me, told me I was pretty and that I should be careful that day. I looked at her and wondered if this was somehow a message from my Grandma because she would want to remind me I was pretty and I should be safe.
The woman continued to walk with me and commented that she liked my shoes; they were metallic pointy-toe wedges, one of my favorites. We proceeded to discuss shoes and the difficulty in finding cute, affordable ones, a conversation much like one I might have shared with my Grandmother, who adored shoes like I do.
All too soon, we got to the side entrance where I usually enter. I asked her if she went in this way, but she laughed and said, “No, I like to go through the front door and give the guys hugs. They like that and so do I.”
I could see that like my Grandma, she loved to make people feel special.
We said our goodbyes and I walked into church amazed at what had just happened. A complete stranger coming up and putting her arm around me like a Grandma would and saying things that my Grandmother might have said doesn’t just happen.
I sat in church trying to memorize the moment because I knew it was a gift from God.
He knew I needed comfort that morning and He gave it to me.
I believe God used that woman to remind me that my Grandmother is closer than I realize and she will always be with me in the traditions I carry on, in the ways I love and in how I live.
Even more importantly, God used that moment to remind me that He is always with me. He sees my hurts and He sees my tears and He see yours too; He’s waiting to comfort us, but we have to be willing to let Him.
Some people would argue that my experience was a coincidence, that it was simply an old woman being nice.
However, I choose to view things differently; I choose to believe it was Him in that moment.
What will you choose?
Will you choose to believe that amazing moments are mere coincidences or that they are divine moments sent from Him?
By Brooke Smith, Magnolia Grace
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Kate says
That is SOOO God.
What a beautiful encounter you had. Just precious.
Those little divine moments from the Lord keep me going. He is so faithful. And so good. And so intimate with us, isn’t He?
Wonderful post.
Have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Kate 🙂
Karen Taylor says
Brought tears to my eyes…I was raised by my grandma and made me think….I need to keep my eyes open more. I miss her so much. I am so happy you had such an amazing day. It is fantastic the love that is there for us if we just open our eyes …..and hearts!
Debbie G. says
I choose to call those moments my “God hugs”.
Mary O'D says
Thanks for sharing that Brooke! It says so much on so many levels. As a granddaughter, it makes me thankful for the time I had with my own grandmothers. As a grandmother, it makes me want to be sure to build those special moments with my grandchildren, but more than that, with others who may need a little “grandmothering.” The woman you met just went with the moment as it was presented to her, and she made a difference in a short walk from her car to the door of the church. God is good!
Rebekah says
In the past year, God has shown me that there are no such thing as coincidences. That all those moments are Him acting purposefully to show us His love. CAN’T even begin to tell you how seeing it that way has changed. my. life.
Good words Brooke! 🙂
Linda says
I still miss my sweet little grandmother, though she’s been gone for some 25 years. Now I am a grandmother, and your words inspire me to stand in as a grandmother for those around me, whether they’re related to me or not. Thanks for the inspiration.
Linda
Janet says
What a precious moment of God pouring out His love onto you. Yes, he knew just what you needed right then and provided it. He knows our hearts so well. Thank you for sharing His faithfulness with us. What an encouragement.
Living the Balanced Life says
I truly believe there are no coincidences. I try to remember that when things don’t go the way I planned or the timing I planned. You just never know what He may have in store for you, or what He may have possibly saved you from.
Great story! Makes me miss my Grandma too. She’s been gone 10 years!
Bernice
The world really IS at our fingertips!
Kristen@Moms Sharpening Moms says
I’m with you, Brooke…no way was that a coincidence, but a gift from God!
I am a military spouse that has never lived close to family. A few years ago, we moved into a home that was next door to an elderly woman named Mary who was fun, feisty and complained about her front yard sweet gum tree (she didn’t like it when the tree shed its large, pokey seeds all over her front yard). Wouldn’t you know my own grandma was named Mary, was super feisty, and also had a pesky sweet gum tree in her front yard. Living next to neighbor Mary eased the homesickness…a gift!
Brandi says
Absolutely heartwarming!
Thank you for sharing.
Rachel says
I was just wondering if I was the only one who believes coidences are divine moments. Now I know that the signs I think I’ve seen really are signs. Thanks for helping to give me the courage to do a hard thing.
Jennifer LeBlanc says
Oh Brooke, I loved this… I have lost both of my grandmothers now, and one loss especially was SO very difficult.
I have had a number of these types of moments in the past couple of years, and definitely choose to see them as Divine encounters.
Thanks for sharing!
Mel @ Trailing After God says
I don’t believe in mere coincidence. Because I think that is how God answers our prayers and meets our needs before we ask. It’s how He loves us and makes us feel special. Just like a parent, we don’t need our children to tell us or ask us for love (hopefully or most of the time). My guest poster today had a similar situation happen to her. She and I both know it wasn’t coincidence but a loving God showing her how treasured she is!
Blessings,
Mel
Please feel free to stop by: Trailing After God
Holley Gerth says
Oh, this makes me miss my Nana! So sweet how God knows just what our hearts need and meets it in such specific ways…
Gretchen says
so perfectly, exactly, what I needed, “by coincidence”. Missing my grandma too.
thank you for sharing the moment!
sherry french says
God is so good…loved this post…thank you for sharing.
hippie4ever says
What a beautiful gift from God! I wouldn’t let it end, why don’t you seek your ‘adoptive grandma’ out next Sunday?
Alysa says
I love this post!!! So good. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this.
Amanda says
What a wonderful message! You brought a tear to my eye as I recalled moments of “coincidence” that I later thought were gifts from God! Thank you for sharing.
Beth Werner Lee says
Not coincidences, no.
God-loves-me incidences, yes!
Rejoicing with you in God’s comfort. He has been my comfort, my counselor, more and more my everything, in the 4 years since my mother’s death from breast cancer. Her love came from him! I see it so often, see his love through my memories of hers. See his love in others that like her, minister to me.
One time I even heard her voice urging me to ask a friend “what is your relationship with Jesus like” and because I thought it strange and wasn’t going to do it, but heard her voice again, I said, “my mom wants me to ask you what your relationship with Jesus is like.” It was so much the right question that the friend didn’t quibble about my dead mom wanting me to ask something…and I didn’t quibble about how I could hear her voice: I suppose God can do anything, including use her voice in my head! I rejoiced in his loving care of my friend and of me too, missing my mom.
God-loves-me incidence.
Divine moments, sent from him! Thanks be to God.
Brooke says
Thank you to everyone for the comments! They have been encouraging and have warmed my heart!
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