Have you ever wondered if a strange event or "coincidence" was a sign from God? If so, has it been confusing or odd enough to make you clueless as to what it could mean?
I drove to Tallahassee yesterday with my wife and three daughters to visit my parents and watch a football game. Since it was so late, we spent the night. My father (79 years old) has a severe brain disease that has made him lack coherence most of the time. It seems that he is in a quasi-dreamlike state most of the time, making comments that sometimes relate to the enviornment yet frequently blend with illusions or hallucinations. When I said goodbye this morning, he said, "So what are you going to do with the twelve?"
I replied, "The twelve what?"
"The twelve people."
I tried to figure out how the comment related to any surroundings or recent conversations, but I was at a loss, so I said something like, "I'm not sure what you mean, but I'll think about it." That seemed to satisfy him.
When we left, I stopped at the first corner convenience store to fill up with gas. As I finished and opened the driver's door to get back in, I noticed a dime on the ground. When I bent over to pick it up, I saw two pennies next to it, so I gathered all three coins.
"Very strange," I told my wife. "Just yesterday, I found exactly this combination of coins at another convenience store when I filled up with gas to come up here."
"You're kidding!" my wife replied. "I found a dime and two pennies on the ground in the Walmart parking lot the day before that!"
"Three days in a row! The same coin combination!" Then it hit me. My dad asked me what I was going to do with the twelve. "Twelve cents!" I exclaimed. Then I told my wife what my father had said just minutes earlier. "What could all this mean? It's too coincidental to be an accident."
Twelve cents three days in a row. "What are you going to do with the twelve?" my father said.
Strange? No doubt. Is it a sign? I think it is. What does it mean? I have no idea.
Right now I'm leaning toward the idea that I should use it in the next story I'm writing, but I don't know how to do it yet. In any case, I'm keeping my eyes and ears open and my spiritual perception in tune for another possible solution. Twelve is a biblical number, so I'll be meditating on how it applies.
Any of you out there have an idea? Do you have a story about a strange circumstance that you thought was a sign?
I'm all ears!
7 comments:
Well, the question was, "What are you going to do with the twelve?" That could imply that it's something you already have. Generally, 12 in the Bible has applied to people (Jacob's sons and Jesus' apostles). If it applies to people, i.e. characters, perhaps it could apply to people that appeared in your stories previously but not so promiently. But then again, I can't think of a group that adds up to exactly twelve. Knights? Orphans? Dragons? Watchers? Then again, I suppose it doesn't have to be people you already created. Or perhaps, it could refer to 12 items or objects.
Actually, my core cast of good guys in my stories adds up to twelve. Lively little number!
I read somewhere that the number 12 in the Bible refers to government, or authority. Maybe the question is, what are you going to do with the authority God has given you? I mean, LOTS of people have read DIOM and have been touched by it. As writers, we are responsible for the words we write. It's a sort of authority.
Does that make sense?
And dont' you love it when God works like that? Can we see the signs? Like the movie of the same name, Signs are all around us. It's very cool.
I definitely believe God gives us signs. We've experienced multiple incidences similar to what you received. One stands out in my mind. I have systemic lupus, a debilitating illness which includes arthritic symptoms. Many people were acqainted with use to see me in the summer where we lived up North in NY and said to me, "You're better in the warmth. You should move to Florida." No one said Texas or Arizona. Everyone said "Florida". Often, these people did not know each other or that we were already considering a move to Florida to be near family. I would turn on the radio and television and preachers would talk about Israel moving to the Promised Land from Egypt, making a comparison of it being like someone moving from gloomy NYS to sunny Florida. Then I went to my own church and the Pastor preached about spying out the land and seizing the Promises of God. My husband and I spied out Florida and felt it was our Promised Land. We felt like Joshua and Caleb, part of the 12 spies. Some of our friends were saying that we shouldn't move here, but we saw the good and eventually moved to Florida. We didn't listen to the rest of the 12 spies who could only see the negative. We moved anyway. We experienced very difficult times for the first year and a half (sort of like kicking out the giants) and suddenly, we began to see the promises of God unfold in our lives. After trying out a few churches, we found a perfect fit in order to use our gifts and callings. Also, my husband found his dream job he wanted all his life, I made breakthroughs in my writing and the Lord is blessing us as we minister to others. We are beginning to enter the Promised Land and are watching the waves part as we step forward across the Jordan. Israel was blessed that the Messiah might come through them and the world would be blessed through them.
It will be exciting to see what your sign was all about. I pray that God makes it abundantly clear. It could be a message not to listen to naysayers or it could be a reminder that you are reaching out to the world like the 12 disciples. Only God can show you, but we will pray and wait to see what it is. How exciting!
mmmmmmm...i've had that happen...idk
lots of love-chloe
Wow, that's kind of cool. Yeah, like, three days after I read this post for the first time, I was riding in the very back seat of a minivan by myself. So anyways, I look over, and I see a dime and two pennies. So when I was trying to remember what you said, I heard the words, "Tell him," so that's what I'm finally doing.
As to what it means, I don't know. Are there any characters you created, but didn't use or something?
I think that Dad's comments were a sign - remember it isn't just twelve. It's "What are you going to do with the twelve people."
The coins were reminders.
As to who the 'twelve people' are, I have no clue. It's your sign. I had signs from Dad as well, but have kept them to myself for now.
I know this sign is weird and all, and your dad asked what you're going to do…personally, I'd pray about it. Whenever God wants me to do something, he literally speaks to my heart about it.
Fool I am, I often turn away in fear, but the Lord is teaching me courage.
The voice of the lord is a whisper, but so strong it overtakes every emotion in the body.
bottom line is: listen to the Lord. He'll tell you what to do with it.
Oh yeah. Another funny little story. My family was on vacation and we were about to check out of the hotel. I was checking under the bed to make sure nothing was left behind and I found TWENTY BUCKS. It was awsesome.
But the irony was this; I'd tithed twenty bucks extra about two weeks before (for a reason I don't remember)…and God had returned my money to me. IS THAT NOT AWSOME?!?! So, who knows what God's going to do with that money!!
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