Have you noticed the times when circumstances ended up being just perfect in your life? It’s easy to think, “Wow, what a good stroke of luck!” or “What an amazing coincidence!” 

But I don’t believe in coincidences or luck. Rather, when circumstances work out just perfectly, it’s an opportunity to see God at work. And as a parent, it’s also an opportunity to point out how God is masterfully coordinating all of life’s pieces. 

It’s a habit my mom and grandpa encouraged for as long as I can remember: pointing out situations and telling stories of when things happened just perfectly or they saw how they were protected afterwards.

Stuck in the Slow Lane

For example, there’s a story my grandpa used to tell about when he was in a hurry while driving. 

He was stuck behind a driver going just under the speed limit, painting her nails while driving. Cars kept whizzing past them in the lane to the left, but they came by so quickly he couldn’t find a gap large enough that he could get over safely. 

As they slowly moved along, they came up around a corner where my grandpa saw a line of all the cars that had sped by. And there were a couple of police officers writing tickets for everyone that had whizzed past my grandpa’s car. 

As frustrating as it was for him to be stuck behind this woman, he saw how God used it.

Noticing Circumstances as a Teen

My mom pointed out all kinds of examples as I was growing up, too. It ended up being so commonplace that I noticed myself interpreting events that way when I was a teenager, too. 

For example: when I was 16, my friends and I were driving around in my parent’s old minivan. One of my friends needed to go home, so we dropped her off and started driving to Starbuck’s in another part of town. 

Before we got far, we realized our friend had left something in my car. Since we were still close by, we went back and dropped it off before heading on for coffee. Then, while approaching the end of her street to turn right, my brakes wouldn’t work! I pressed the pedal and nothing happened!

Fortunately, we were going slowly enough that as I turned the corner I was able to coast to a stop. I pulled out my car’s cell phone (back when they were only for emergencies), and it didn’t work, either! I was glad my friend happened to live near my parent’s house, so we were able to just walk back home. 

Had my friend not forgotten her item in my car, and we hadn’t noticed and decided to drop it off first, we would have been on a big, busy street with a lot of traffic. I have no idea what might have happened if I’d been on that road and my brakes didn’t work–it could have ended up causing some sort of accident, and we wouldn’t have had a phone to call for help! 

I felt so protected when I saw how God arranged for a scary moment like brakes going out to be in a place where no one was hurt–the car didn’t even get a scratch on it.

Watching for Perfect Circumstances

I could tell you more stories about ways I’ve seen God protect me and coordinate my life perfectly in college, early marriage, parenthood, and even within the last few months. But my encouragement to you is that you watch for those moments in your own life. 

• Did that timing end up just perfectly? 
• Did you get an unexpected bill for something at the exact same time you just happened to receive a bonus or something that was the same amount? 
• Was there something that happened that could have been much worse, but everything ended up being just right? 

There are countless ways God guides and directs us each day, many we don’t even see, but if we watch for them and then point them out to our kids, it’s a fantastic way to help frame their perspective growing up! 

God is always with us. He cares about the smallest details of our lives. He’s watching out for us and using every experience for something. He has plans for things in our lives we can’t even imagine!