October 8, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . There Are No Coincidences

A friend of mine often uses that phrase when a coincidence, usually good, pops up.  Maybe it’s a phone call from an old friend at a particular time, or maybe it’s an unexpected flower delivery, or whatever.  There are times when we need something in our lives and what we need just happens to appear.  My friend will tell you there are no coincidences and that God is doing something remarkable.

This past week was Bar Week – that time of the month when I spend the first weekdays in a different bar in town.  And because the first was on a Wednesday this month, Bar Week started at The Cowboy.  I’ve come to know a few of the regulars there and we generally have a good conversation.  One of them keeps telling me he’s going to invite me to the shooting range, but that hasn’t yet happened and that’s another story.

So last Wednesday I showed up at The Cowboy, sat down at the bar, ordered my usual, and had a conversation with one of the regulars.  I finished up, paid my bill, headed out, and just as I got to the door a guy sitting a few chairs to my left suddenly says, “Are you a pastor?”

Making a U-turn I said, “Yep.  I’m the priest at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church here.  What’s up?”  Then I sat down next to him.

It turns out that he was up here from Arizona overseeing a job for his company and would be going home on Friday.  He was silent for a minute, then told me that he had just found out a close friend of his died suddenly and very unexpectedly from a blood clot.

We talked.  I prayed.  He cried.  Then he said, “Thanks for stopping.”  Sometimes Bar Week is exactly what it needs to be.

There are no coincidences.