Coincidence or Fate?

You know, I was drawn into the world of blogs and blogging by an article that spoke of facades. It catapulted me into this adventure of exploring words, other people's perspective on life, my own beliefs about who I am, who I want to be, and how I view the world. The interesting thing about that article was that I passed by it 6 or 7 times before I stopped to read it. I noticed it, but I "didn't have time" to stop and read it. Every time I noticed it though, I had this prompting within gently suggest to me that I need to read it. The rebel within was indignant and hence the reason why I passed by the article so many times before I dove in to read it.

The article set me on a path that I had been longing for.

A path that is leading me to a deeper relationship with God, a refining of my soul and spirit - a polishing of the Pearl, so to speak, and an infilling of my heart's desires.

Was it a coincidence that I read this article that has catapulted me forward? Or was it fate?

If I had of continued to skip over the lead-in to that article, where would I be now? Would I be blogging? Would I have grown emotionally, mentally, or spiritually as I have now? Would I this...? Would I that...??

Is there ever such a thing as a coincidence? Or is everything fate?

Recently, I have been hearing over and over how people and circumstances have come together in a most beneficial way and the people seeing these things are giving God the credit. "God had this planned all along..."

I am talking about things that range from people who have ended up meeting others in a seemingly serendipitous encounter to the acquiring of buildings and funding that have 'miraculously' been made available.

Personally, I believe all things occur for a reason.

People who are afraid of losing control use the word "coincidence". I would suggest that these people quiver in fear at the idea that an entity that they cannot influence has chosen to work in their world for better or for worse! Think about it...

If a person believes that God is in control of all things, they would see events in life as fate; whereas, a person who does not recognize God as the one who formed you in the womb, the One that has a plan and purpose for your life, the One that weaves all things together ... well, this person would believe in coincidence.

What do you believe?

The article I mentioned is Michael Warden's "The Beautiful Facade" http://www.crosswalk.com/singles/11563262/
You can also check out more of Michael D. Warden's writings by following his link aside.