Have you ever had one of those goose bump moments in your life, where things align in such a way, that you felt the universe was working on you behalf?  Some people call  them “God Winks”.  Some of these “Winks” are so amazing that I call them “God high fives”!  Whether you call them coincidences or synchronicities, you may come away suspecting that there is more to this universe than meets the eye.

Psychologist and Psychiatrist-Carl Jung, developed the concept of synchronicity.  It suggests that we are not separate individuals, but rather interconnected beings who are part of a larger whole.  He asserts that “Synchronity” is a meaningful coincidence or a set of meaningful coincidences, that can provide us with insight into our lives, our connections with the universe and our essential purpose in life.”

Jung described a synchronity as being an “inner state of the mind that is connected in a meaningful way to the outside world.”  As these two realities join, it also hints that there is no real definitive separation between ourselves and the world around us..

Synchronicity is the beautiful choreography between the inner state of mind and exterior circumstances, that unfold in an awesome and miraculous way.  It cannot be explained by mere chance. This is the intersection of quantum physics, psychology an spirituality.

I would like to share with you, a real story that happened to me.  It involves you…my “other” next of kin.

Well, my eldest son-Chris, daughter-in-law Lora and my grand-daughter Chloe, just moved to the east side of Cleveland a few weeks back.  Now, I had been personally toying around with downsizing into a condo since June, so I considered that maybe this was the time to follow them to the east side.  You know…Hudson, Twinsburg, Solon, Chagrin Falls or Aurora.  That neck of the woods.  I use to live in Solon for 22 years before I moved here, and I had a church out in Chagrin Falls.

The Medina move was a new frontier, with a new beginning for me.  The journey to my new hometown, full of spiritual growth and it led me to you- the church community that I had settled into.

On July 1^st, I had a dentist appointment, back in Solon.  And no…I hadn’t bothered to find a new dentist in Medina. My bad! As I drove eastward, coming closer and closer to my old stomping ground…I started to feel a sickening feeling in my stomach.  It felt that if I moved out that way again,  my life would be going backwards….not forwards.  I had been praying for clarity and wisdom on this matter, so this was an interesting feeling for me to observe.

After giving this much thought,  on July 4^th, went to the zoo with my son-Chris and Chloe.  Close to noon, at the zoo, I spoke to him about my feelings about following them to the east side.  I said that It felt as if I were going backwards…. not forwards in my life.   I told him that I planned to downsize into a condo and thought it was important to stay connected with my community-You.  Maybe there was a better location…that would allow me to stay connected with my community and be a little closer to him. He fully supported any decision that I would make regarding the move…either way.  We eventually left the zoo and went back to his home in Lakewood.

At about 2:20pm, I left my Chris’s home and I called my friend-Teresa. As I started on 71S from Lakewood,  after being on the phone with her for 5 minutes, I said that I needed to get off the phone because I see a possible accident.  At that time, I saw a car in the far left lane get cut off by a passing car.  It was now bobbling, trying not to hit the 5’  high cement wall that separates 71S from 71N.    That bobbling car did end up hitting the cement wall and I was holding my breath!  I slowed my car down in speed, trying to pull over to the furthest lane on the right side…away from this possible accident.

I was waiting for the car to flip over, or hit one of the multitude of vehicles that were on the highway that day.  But It didn’t flip.  It did a flat spin…one, two, three times, over 4 lanes…from the far left to the far right lane…landing perfectly on the side of the road, facing the correct way!

Since I had seen all of this, I felt a moral obligation to pull over and call 911.  As I spoke to the 911 operator , she asked me if I could see if the driver was injured.  So I did. I walked over to the vehicle and opened the passenger door, to find a young woman unsettled, whose was shaking and the driver’s side airbags had released.  I asked if she was hurt and she said that she couldn’t hear out of her left ear, her neck hurt and her left side hurt, and she thought she was going into shock.  I relayed all of this to the 911 operator.  The operator then told me to tell the driver to not move and to not try to getout of the car.  Help was on the way.

I stayed on the phone with the 911 operator and as I was doing so, the young woman called her mother, who happened to be out-of-state on vacation…in Michigan. As I was talking, the mother heard my voice in the background and asked “Who is with you? Ask her name.”   The driver did ask my name and I told her that “My name was Ann”.  The mother told her daughter to ask what my last name was, which I replied “Ann Nagy”  The young woman pass the phone to me, and I heard on the other end “Ann…this is Jen Vilimonovic!  This is my daughter!  This is divine intervention!”  In case you don’t know Jen, she is in the choir and she is the extremely talented violinist that we are so priviledged to sing with.  She is also the Director of our Hobby Horse Preschool.   She is one of the people that I am closest to in my church…and this was her daughter, who I had never met before!

It doesn’t quite end there.  As the Paramedics got there and were tending to Samantha, I got out of the car and called my son-Chris from the side of the road.  I said “Chris, I just wanted to let you know that I witnessed a car accident and I did pull over and call 911.  It happened to be one of my church members.”  He replied “Mom!  That was you?  I just passed you!  I saw the colors that you were wearing at the zoo!”

Well…there is one more thing to bring up.  Samantha went to Southwest Hospital and I had to hang back and make a statement.  She had called her “other mother” to meet her at the hospital.  This person is her employer who runs a stable in Hinckley and her name is Solange.  Solange and her daughter-Piper went to Southwest to see Samantha, and I followed.  As I was talking to Solange, I asked what she does for a living?  She replied that she runs a riding stable in Hinckley.  I then said… “Huh.  My Pastor’s wife Kate Lindon rides horses and I think it might be in Hinckley.  Does Kate ride with you?”  Solange replied “Oh yah.  Kate rides with us!”   The world just gets a little smaller for me.

Now…the chances of this happening are so staggering when you think of it.  And yet, this doesn’t surprise me at all, as I have had so many synchronicities in my life.  That usually come off the heals of prayer by me. What I find so unbelievable about this one, was that I had just announced my intention to my son that I would be not be following them to the eastside.  I wanted to stay close to my community.  To me, this was God, the universe, the source, the force (whatever you want to call it)…saying… “Ann, you

are going in the right direction.  Stay with your community.  They need you and you need them.”

The thing that synchronicities make us feel is astonishment.  The wonderment and the connection between our inner world and our outer world.  They re-engage our sense of awe in this life.  Meant to shine a light on the path that you are taking in life.

So…you are probably scratching your head, wondering why I am bringing this up synchronicities on Stewardship Sunday.  I am here to witness to you, about my journey with tithing, and I need you to know what started my heart posture change.  For me, it started with tons of gratitude!

Most of you probably don’t know that I had a major personal crisis in 2021.  It was a long, hard road to recovery.  One where I learned to lean on Christ.  I reached out for a close, personal relationship with Him.  Full disclosure.  Intimacy. You know…”Into Me See”.  This had to do with dealing with hard truths and ridiculous grace.  That ridiculous grace…where you are fully know by Christ and still loved away.

During this time, a dear friend stayed with me.  She tended to me.  She fended for me.  And you, my church did too….probably unknowingly.  You sent me prayers.  You sent Pastoral care.  Loving cards and meals came my way and now I can say the YOU are what a wounded soul needs to find hope in this world.  A loving community.  Offering love, compassion.  Mercy.

Because of this journey of walking in the dark valley…which I did, and finding respite within the still waters…which I did and still am , I was finally in the place of great trust and immense gratitude towards our God.   That was the gratitude has brought forth my desire to tithe.

How fitting that last August, I learned of Malachi 3:10-11.  The biblical verses on tithing. “Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and bring so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store it.”

On September 1, 2023, I started to tithe and since then, some wonderful… life-changing things have happened to me.  The most significant thing was that I started to feel more inner peace.  Actually the word “blessing” in Hebrew means “peace”….and

that is what I have felt.   Deep peace.  I trust in God, that a way will be cleared for my needs to be met.  And they have…and then some.

God created tithing, not because God needs the money.  No.  God has more money than God.  No.  It’s to help us trust in God, and to help activate a spirit of generosity and to help others.

Micah 6:8 Tells us to be just, and to love (and to diligently practice) kindness (compassion), and to walk humbly with your God.  According to the dictionary, mercy is a noun.  It is a mission performed to relieve suffering.  It’s an event to be grateful for.  It’s the compassion shown to someone.  But mercy is a noun in action.

Compassion is another word for mercy and it is recognizing the suffering of others and then taking action to help.  When compassion acts to alleviate suffering, it becomes mercy.

Through tithing, we may have food in our “house” of worship.   In our church…to feed the widow, the orphan.  To create hope for Medina’s homeless, those with mental illness, addiction and beyond.  We become a “psalm of hope” for each other and our community….where we are extending love and mercy….showing compassion.  We are positioning ourselves to be able to offer some relieve  to those who are suffering.

Let me circle around from the start and say that we are not separate individuals, but rather interconnected beings who are part of a  larger whole.  Just like Carl Jung synchronicities demonstrate.  For me…the universe keeps pointing out… that being involved with this church community is somehow a part of my purpose.  I am here to give hope and reassurance to you….my “other next of kin” that there is more going on in the universe than meets the eye.  And if you leave a little space for the miraculous, you will see it.  You will find a light will be shining down onto the path of your purpose.

I am here today to deliver a truthful witness, to this church..my family.  You who have been there for me with love and compassion.  And on how my life has changed since I started to tithe.  I have found deep inner peace, and tithing has helped me pry my fingers from earthly things.   Your priorities change and you let go of the material things of this world.

God changes our heart posture through tithing and we can become a place where the hopeless find hope in this weary world.  This hope is in thee.  It is in thee.  It is in the

“We” of the beloved community.  And the hope is in He.  For Christ is the Good Shepard, who shows love and mercy to all.  So should we all show love and mercy to our fellow man.  In Christ’s name I pray it is so.  Amen