Just by coincidence? I think not.

A few weeks ago, my friend Becky posted on her blog some really fun pictures of her family enjoying this huge pillow some church friends had given them. I loved the pictures because the little kids (and the-not-so-little ones) were clearly enjoying themselves on this monster of a pillow. There were some pretty hilarious shots...and the possibilities seemed endless as to what one could do with such a thing (Becky had a pretty good list going on her post).

It wasn't until after I got to sit on the pillow myself that I became sold on it. Becky and her family invited us over for dinner and a movie a week or so after the pillow post. For ampler seating, her husband Cliff (a.k.a. Buster) pulled out the pillow from somewhere (who knows where they manage to store it =). After a few moments of enjoying its cushyness, I let my imagination run wild with all the ways we could use it at home. Andrew seemed to be thinking the same thing because he asked our friends where they think he could find a pillow like it. They told us they'd researched and had found out that they were pretty spendy.

Oh, I thought. Well, forget that.

That was Friday.

Then came Sunday.

I had had to leave church in the middle of the service 30 minutes earlier that morning to help a friend in need. I had barely made it back to the church foyer to hear the last few minutes of the sermon...and so decided to stay in the foyer with my charge (my friend's 8 year old son) and listen in from there.

It so happened that Peter Hamilton was sitting at the table next to mine. Peter was the friend of ours who had gifted our friends with the monster pillow. He owns a furniture warehouse and had received the pillow in the mail as a promotional freebie. He had no use for it. That's why he'd gifted our friends.

Clearly, I hadn't forgotten about the pillow...because I decided to ask him if he knew how much a pillow like the one he'd given Becks and Buster would cost...and where I'd be able to find one. He didn't know, but he generously agreed to look into it for me.

I didn't even tell him to 'not worry about it' as would have been the right thing to do. I felt embarrassed about it later when I realized it.

At dinnertime on Monday, the phone rang and Andrew picked it up.

It was Peter and he had pretty awesome news: another promotional pillow had just come in the mail that day...and he was pretty sure he had found a home for it. =)

No way!! Really?? Andrew and Peter exchanged some what-are-the-chances words.

Apparently, my inquiry couldn't have been more timely. Just by coincidence? I think not.

Peter told Andrew he'd drop off the pillow at church for us to pick up later. The pillow would be in its compacted form in a box 1/4 its size. I thought it sounded manageable enough so I headed over to the church a couple of days later to pick it up. As I headed to where it would be, I ran into none other than Peter, who knew exactly why I was there. Just by coincidence? I think not.

And it's a really good thing he was there because I had not expected the box to be so heavy and...well, so boxy. Peter kindly went over the instructions with me and then carried the box to my car.

I drove home in marvel at how God had worked out all the details. My friend's call for help, my prompt return, Peter sitting at the foyer table next to mine, my timely inquiry, the package arriving in the mail the very next day, the helping hands to load the box in the car several days later, everything. It couldn't have been all just by coincidence?

I know. I get it. It's just a pillow.

But by choosing to see it this way...by believing God wanted us to get this pillow, I've become more watchful for the ways He might use it to bring glory to Himself. I'm beyond thinking up of the practical and silly uses this pillow might have to imagining the spiritual and relational possibilities. Will it be instrumental in providing a cool connection with neighborhood kids? Will it be the comfortable spot for mother and child to have an impromptu yet meaningful conversation?

I don't know. God knows. Maybe He just wanted to provide a safe landing for any mishaps on the garage rings. And I'm thankful for that if that's all it is. And even that gives Him glory. Maybe He wanted to gives us a glimpse of His love. And He's accomplished that already..and I glorify His name.

And I'm thankful...

And I'm watchful for any other opportunities to glorify Him through this...this...monster of a pillow.