Providence
I should be writing about how awesome my trip to San Francisco was, or how great the weather was, or how awesome my company is to fly me out to party and play paintball but God’s too great to let all those little things out do him. He’s got to be the center of my trip.
Yesterday we had an engineering-wide paintball trip. 50-60 engineers running around blasting each other with paintballs makes for a great “day at the office”. Since the site was about 40-60 minutes outside the city and my coworker, Derek, and I didn’t have a car, we had to carpool w/ someone leaving from SF. One of the lab guys offered to drive the Riverbed Van for us so we’d be leaving from the office at 8:30, earlier than we usually get in to work. I decided to arrive at the office at 8:20 so I wouldn’t be left behind. I didn’t bring my badge since I figured I didn’t have to go upstairs. When I arrived, Derek called me and told me we’re meeting upstairs. I didn’t have my badge and I was too lazy to ask the security guards to let me go upstairs so I told him I’d sit and wait in the lobby.
About two minutes before Derek and the rest of the guys came downstairs to get me, I heard my name called out from behind me. I turned and looked and it’s the one person I know who works in San Francisco. I was flabbergasted. I couldn’t believe I was looking at Kathy Chang. I stood up and I was dumbstruck. I said ‘Hi’ and we were both like, ‘What the heck are you doing here?’ I told her I work for Riverbed and apparently we are her client. My buddies came down and she had to get to work so we exchange phone-numbers and decide to grab dinner together once she got off work. We just had to get dinner together, it wasn’t chance that we ran into each other considering if:
- we weren’t going paintballing, I wouldn’t have gotten there that early
- we weren’t carpooling from the office, I wouldn’t have been there
- I had brought my badge, I would have gone upstairs and not been waiting in the lobby
- I weren’t lazy, I would have gone upstairs
- my coworkers had gotten downstairs 2 minutes earlier, we would have gone to the van
- Kathy had gotten there 2 minutes later, we would have gone to the van already
- this were a different week, Kathy was working out of our old office instead of our new office
- Kathy were on a different client, she would have been someplace completely different
There were probably a million other things carefully planned so that one fateful Friday morning, Kathy and I would meet and catch up over dinner. It was good talking together about our careers, future, San Francisco, church, God, and mutual friends. I really think God has a sense of humor when things like this happen. It’s not by coincidence that we ran into each other on my last day in SF. I’m amazed by God’s authorship over the whole universe and that sometimes, everything is arranged for that kairos moment. Out of all the great things during my trip, seeing God’s providence for his children is the best.
And please pray for the alums, your past small group leaders and older member’s who have graduated and left. The world’s a tough place and we need as much prayer as possible.