Was It A Coincidence?

On Tuesday of this week, I struggled as to what the subject of the class was going to be this morning. After looking through some resource material in my office I chose a section of scripture in Acts, which had to do with Herod's persecution of the church and the killing of John's brother, James. You may recall that after James was murdered, Peter was arrested, thrown in jail, and victoriously released by an angel of the Lord. The point of the lesson was that God can be victorious out of deep personal loss, such as John's loss in the death of his brother.

In class a discussion began as to how loss during the holidays is so difficult and that Thanksgiving and Christmas can be bitter sweet for so many as a result of the death of friends or family. As the discussion continued, I noticed a first time visitor, who brought one our members to class as a favor to her, weeping. I asked her if I hit a heart string and would she like to share her struggle. She told us that she lost her son four years ago on Thanksgiving Day and in order to mask her pain began using cocaine for a period of two years. She announced that she had been clean for two years now, and that she didn't get to come to church very often because she drives a truck for a living. It was certainly the first time she had been to our class and to Central but it felt like we had known her for quite some time. We prayed for her and ended the class on that note.

I don't know about you, but I don't think it was a coincidence that the Lord gave me the subject of "loss" on Tuesday, to talk about today, and that this lady was present to receive a blessing as well as the class.