It just so happens.

August 19, 2022

I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:6 The Message

You just can’t make these things up.  It just so happens that when our oldest granddaughter Lily 7th grader, she wanted to get involved in an extra-curricular activity.  She tried out for the middle school track team. To her great disappointment, she didn’t make the team. She mentioned it to her middle school guidance counselor, who happened to be the high school’s J.V field hockey team. Her counselor said that they needed another manager, so Lily signed up.

She enjoyed the comradery of the team and thought field hockey looked fun. She had been a dancer from the time she was three. Her one attempt at a team sport was soccer as a five-year-old. She didn’t like it at all. We were shocked that she wanted to give it a try. The following summer she signed up for a couple of field hockey camps and tried out for the team the next fall.

I love field hockey and play competitively until I “retired” when I was twenty-nine, so I could help coach our sons’ soccer team.  I had no expectations that she would play and must admit I was delighted that she was giving it a try.

A varsity starter since she was a sophomore, she is now one of the co-captains as a senior. I am one of her biggest fans, and it just so happens that I am close enough to see some of her games.

Paul wrote about the just-so-happens of spiritual growth. he planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God gives the growth. She got cut from middle school track and it just so happened mention it to her counselor. Her counselor just so happened to be the high school junior varsity field hockey coach. The team just so happened to need a manager and the coach invited her to try it. She did, and the rest is history.

We never know the impact that we have on others, and only in hindsight can appreciate the impact others had on us. And somehow in the middle of all these twists and turns, God grows us.  Out of disappointment and closed doors come new and unexpected opportunities.

Preseason games begin today. I’ll be there. So will God. ~ Anne