Chance Encounters.

Do you ever have chance encounters with people where you can see God's hand in that encounter?

I had one of those at the grocery store recently. 

I took Ryan to the store one Saturday afternoon, and left my oldest, Jack, at home with the husband.

And we were grabbing eggs while he was chowing down on his banana, when a fellow mama, with her four year old strapped in the cart, struck up a conversation about just how fast the time goes.

We stood in the aisle for what felt like ages as people walked past us. And we just swapped stories about our kids and their ages and what a gift motherhood is. We talked about the struggles and how hard it is, how different each stage is, how she has a 6 year old too and it's easier now that she's so independent.

It was beautiful and good.

And it left me thinking, why don't I have more chance encounters like this with my fellow mamas? I see them there pushing their kids up and down the aisles in those carts. I see them rushing through their list so they can pay for the food and get the food and their kids back in the car! 

Anyhow, as this fellow mama and I parted ways, I realized I didn't even catch her name!!

But guess what? God redeemed that situation. Come Sunday morning, we woke up later than we normally do, so we ended up going to the 9:30 church service rather than the 8:00. And guess who we ran into? The fellow mama at the grocery store, and I finally got her name - Valerie. It was her family's first time coming to Bethany Community Church and it just so happened to be on the Sunday we had slept in!

And I was so surprised to see her there, but when I really thought about it, I wasn't. And she just said to me, "And sometimes, you just know. You don't even have to say it, but you just know."

And I thought, so true right? You never know who you might be encountering or entertaining.

There are opportunities for those chance encounters all around us. May we have eyes to see Him in them and courageous hearts to respond.