Fate or Providence?

Life is full of strange coincidences that often seem like more than just a coincidence. I've had many of these in my life. So many in fact that I've often pondered the idea of fate. What is fate? Do I believe in it? Are these coincidences fate or something more? As a person of faith, I believe it is something more. The best word I can think of to describe this is Providence. In the dictionary, Providence is defined as: the foreseeing care and guidance of God or nature over the creatures of the earth. Do I believe there is a God that is looking out for us? Do I believe this God has a plan for our lives? Do I believe God created us for a unique purpose? Yes, I believe these things. I believe in Providence over fate because the concept involves more than just happenstance.

Why am I bringing this up? Because, tonight is one of those times I am pondering the concept of fate. Fate did not bring my husband and I together, Providence did. We saw each other in a public place. Though we noticed one another we left without a conversation and no way to reconnect. He went home and prayed that we would meet again. About a month later, we saw each other again in a public place. Two weeks later we had lunch and I knew instantly that we would be married, exactly one year later we were. There is a little girl at the orphanage in India who I connected with on my first visit. She isn't outgoing, in fact she is rather quite and wouldn't be one of the kids you would expect to stick out in a crowd of hundreds. I saw her and we connected. A soul kind of connection. I saw this little girl as family. At the time I knew I couldn't take her home. I was single and didn't live a life conducive to child rearing. Kenyon met this girl during our wedding in India and he felt the same way. He often says, "She's special. She's our little girl." We aren't ready to begin the adoption process today, but we will likely take these steps in the coming year.

I am the Director of the HIV/AIDS initiatives for a large international relief organization. I do this work because I am passionate about the cause and I believe in making a difference in the lives of those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. I have committed my life to this effort. Tonight I learned that our little girl is an orphan because her parents died of AIDS.

Is that fate or Providence? You decide.