A Car Crash

A Car Crash

December 29, 2019

God Winks

Have you ever had a coincidence? A time when events come together in an amazing way? I love collecting stories of coincidence. As we gather for worship, we’ll explore the concept of coincidence. One author calls them God-Winks. Reminders that we are loved and guided by God. Little nudges of love.

I heard one from NPR’s This American Life[1]. Two high school girls were roommates for band camp their freshman year. They formed a fast friendship. On the last day of camp, there’s a field trip to downtown Seattle. They went up the Space Needle. One of the girls had a little plastic army paratrooper. They felt like rebels. The act of throwing that little army guy over the rails and watching the paratrooper sail over Seattle bonded them for the next years.

And the next four years fly by. They went to dances and double dates together. The two girls had a great time together. It’s senior year. They are at band camp in Reno. They just get unpacked and they look out the window and they see a little plastic army paratrooper float and smack into their window.

What are the chances of that happening?! It’s a coincidence. A God Wink. No one else knew about the Space Needle Paratrooper. It couldn’t have been a prank. It’s these types of stories that make us want to tell the world, yet we feel like everyone would say we’re making it up!

For the children today, we have these little paratroopers to help you remember this day. Find a friend and have them write their name on the parachute. Then you’ll head with Miss Stacie and launch them over the railing by the elevator. We’ll have you back in the service in a little bit. But now, go have fun!

It is good to remember our friends. It is good to remember that God came and dwelt among us. [Start playing Go Tell it on the mountain] The creator of all things was born in a humble way. Wrapped in cloth and laid in the manger. Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” What are the chances of that happening?! Yet it makes us want to go tell it on a mountain!

A Car Crash

I read this story about a car crash in Reader’s Digest.[2] A man gets a call. It’s his 12-year-old daughter Alyce saying that “Mommy was in a car accident.” He flyers and sees fire engines, police cars, and ambulances. Susan, the mom, is pinned under the dashboard. Alyce is on the corner crying, covered in shards of glass, but uninjured.

Susan will spend three months in the hospital following the crash. She broke almost ever bone in her body.

Two years later, Susan and her husband are at their synagogue celebrating MLK. They get word, “There’s a woman here tonight from one of the church choirs who you have to meet!” They are introduced to an African-American woman.

The morning of the car crash, she rushed to the street, still in her bathrobe and say Alyce standing by the wreck. She asked Alyce, “Is your mom in there?” Alyce nodded. “Okay, let’s pray together.”

Alyce looked at this woman wearing a cross around her neck and said, “Ok, but you should know I’m Jewish.” The woman smiled and took her hand, held it to her chest and said, “That’s okay. In here we’re all the same.”

Alyce told her that she needed to call her dad, and that’s how he got the call. After the accident, the woman continued to pray for the family. Of Alyce, and Susan. And the dad.

A picture was taken together. And as they were saying goodbye, they realized that had never been formally introduced. The woman turns to the dad and says, “Sorry, I never got your name.”

“Doug.” He says. The woman pauses. She looks stunned. “Doug, like Douglas.”

The woman looked at us and said, “Wait, your name is Susan?” Susan nodded. She turns to the dad, “And your name is Douglas.”

The woman puts her hand over her heart. “Oh my goodness… My name is Susan Douglas.”

We live in such a time as this. We have the coincidence that we exist together, here and now. With some many times and places we could have been born, we inhabit this space. This time. This now.

I don’t know how Providence works. I don’t know how coincidence works. Yet I love when it does. I feel seen. Loved. Surprised by joy. I feel bonded to those whom I share the moment with. Kate and I bonded over the Susan Douglas story. We just love it.

I love the story of the paratroopers. It’s amazing! Stories like these make us feel like there is an author to our lives. That we are gently guided and can feel safe in the universe.

Then we meet the hardships of life. Family, friends, and pets die. And our bonds are taken away. Look what happens to atoms when we unbind them. A large release of energy. A nuclear explosion. And in the aftermath, we are left feeling spent. Out of energy. A gaping nothing. We miss the gift that we had be given. We are left with a weird mix of emotions. Endings are hard. Separations are hard. There might be a name you are missing today. They could have died this year or a decade ago.

Remember them. Say their name. Light the candle.

Maybe your grief is fresh. Maybe your grief is an old friend. In this time, let us say the names we are missing. Honor the bonds that have changed. Come forward in this time, light a candle and say their name.

Remember them. We will say the names of those who have died and light a candle for them. Then we will invite you up to say your name of the ones who you want to remember. Say their name. Light the candle. They are as close to us as our next memory.

Works Cited

[1] https://www.thisamericanlife.org/489/no-coincidence-no-story

[2] https://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/bus-crash-angel/?fbclid=IwAR0FMRtgY0onm4V_pI5qV-ye0xPi0CK21Yp6JJZf-4Ggd8voM92JyQw2-ZU

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