Thanks, God! I think.

Someone once told me there is no such thing as a coincidence. Coincidences are really just God at work where we least expect it. Here is my coincidence story.

The time change had gotten the best of me. I was tired and in need of a solid night's sleep. I had to arrive at work early the next morning for an important meeting. I crawled into bed later than I had hoped and immediately fell into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, I was awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of our chocolate lab whining. This was a rare occurrence so I knew I had to get up and attend to her.

As I walked through the laundry room to let the dog out the back door, my foot stepped into a puddle of something wet. I searched for the light to see what calamity awaited. The light revealed a large puddle of dog vomit. Nasty. Not only was my foot soaked, but the puddle had spread far enough to reach my daughter's favorite pair of boots. Double nasty.

While I so needed to be asleep, I grudgingly found the materials needed to clean up the mess. I washed the boots, cleaned the floor, and put the soiled towels into the washer. I knew I was up much longer than I had anticipated. Desperate to see how much sleep I had lost, I grabbed my cell phone to check the time as I crawled into bed.

I was surprised to find my cell phone completely dead. In the rush of the day, I had failed to notice my battery charge was almost depleted. My last task before returning to bed was to turn my phone back on and plug it in to charge. As I did this, I remembered the phone is my morning alarm.

Was this all a coincidence or had God intervened on my behalf?

As I drifted off toward sleep, here's what I concluded:

Had the dog not gotten sick, she wouldn't have whinned to go outside.
Had the dog not needed to go outside, I wouldn't have awakened in the middle of the night.
Had I not been awake so long cleaning, I wouldn't have thought to check the time on my cell phone.
Had I not checked the time, I wouldn't have realized my cell phone was dead.
Had I not turned my phone on and charged it, my alarm wouldn't have gone off in the morning.
Had my alarm not gone off, I would have missed my meeting at work.

Before sleep overtook me, I remember whispering "Thanks, God. I think."

When have you seen the hand of God at work in a similar way? Did you think it was just a coincidence? Or did you take the time to consider that He was arranging the details to work in your favor?

Are you convinced God is at work in your life-even in small and seemingly impossible ways? In the light of morning, I was convinced! Are you willing to give Him credit for the coincidences in your life? If you are a child of God, there is no such thing as a coincidence. It is simply the hand of God at work in ways or places you didn't expect.

Be aware. Feel loved. Give Him credit.