"The same God that placed the star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well." Elder Neal A. Maxwell
A couple weeks ago I was listening to Hank Smith and John Bytheway's "Follow Him" program, and John said something that resonated with me. He told of a time when he was at a conference where Elder Neal A. Maxwell was speaking, and Elder Maxwell presented this concept: "the macro plan of salvation is composed of micro plans. God governs the intersections of our lives, the people that we meet, and when we meet them. These intersections are all watched over by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and we will not be aware of it. We can look back on these intersections, and the people that God brought into our lives and see how we were changed as a result."
I have often thought about God's perfect timing, and the people that He has brought into my life - from my parents and siblings, husband and children, to my friends and acquaintances, and even the "random" conversation with someone over the phone or in a store. I decided to research more about what Elder Maxwell has said about these not-so-random and not-so-coincidental intersections. In a talk he gave at BYU in 1996 called Brim With Joy, Elder Maxwell touched on this subject again. He said "I am so grateful for a part of mortality that we sometimes overlook: the intertwinings of our lives. I acknowledge the Lord's hand in these intersections. Some here have heard me say that one of the reasons we love each other in the kingdom is that our friendships are not friendships of initiation but are, instead, friendships of resumption." Elder Maxwell is definitely alluding to the friendships that were created in the pre-existence and that have resumed again during our mortal lives; these same friendships that we will most likely enjoy in eternity.
Elder Maxwell continued: "I am so grateful for these intertwinings of our lives. I could say that with regard to Elder Eyring. The manner in which our lives have intersected has been such a great blessing to me, and it is so with Bruce Hafen and with so many more. It is a marvelous thing when the Lord gives us these experiences, and of course, you have them as well. It should not surprise us that Heavenly Father brings about these intersectings and intertwinings of our lives. So often (after something is over) we will say, 'little did I realize' or 'I had no way of knowing' in referring to these intersectings. But why should we be surprised? Each of us has circles of friendships, and within those lie the portion of the human family whom God has given us to love, to serve, and to learn from. None of us every fully utilizes the people-opportunities allocated to us within our circles of friendships. You and I may call these intersectings "coincidence." This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God. He does not do things by "coincidence" but by "divine design."
I think of the intricate planning that God orchestrated to bring me and my husband, Mark, together. I was born in New York and he was born in Arizona. I had spent most of my life in the eastern states and he has spent all of his life in the western states. When I ran away from home (Florida) when I was 33 years old (you can read about my road to redemption in my first blog called "How it All Started"), God brought me to Aztec, NM, of all places, in 1994. After a marriage to a man who passed away from cancer in 1998, Mark and I met each other in the summer of 1999. By then, after many tough years, I was ready to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Mark would be the one who would share this good news with me. And where did we meet - at work.
Mark had his own struggles. He was divorced from his first wife. Throughout his first marriage, his wife had no interest in the Church. Mark's patriarchal blessing indicated that he would be married and sealed in the temple. After his divorce, he was searching for a woman with whom he could go to the temple, but to no avail.
Then one day, he walked into my office. We had never seen each other before. He wanted a key to the fitness facility, and I was the one who doled out the keys. When he walked into my office, Mark later shared with me that the Holy Ghost whispered to him, "she's the one." He took one look at the ring on my finger and silently responded back to the voice in his head, "she's not the one." LOL. I was still wearing my wedding ring even though my husband, Vic, had passed away months before. After I had Mark sign the waiver and gave him the key, he left my office. I remember thinking to myself that he was very handsome and that he had striking blue eyes. Hmmmm.
But God would not be deterred. Over the next few months, Mark's life and my life would intersect regularly. His key to the fitness facility wouldn't work, and he needed a new one, which meant that he had to come back to my office to get another one. That happened twice. I never had that problem with anyone else's key! I went to the bike races in Aztec, and Mark was there. Coincidence? I don't think so. Then one day Mark asked me on a date. Less than six months later we were married and a year later we went to the temple. There was a lot that happened in between, but I'll spare you the details. In the end, God's mission was accomplished. Mark would joke with me that I moved to Aztec so that I could meet him, and I would joke back that I moved to Aztec so that he could meet me. We are both right. I did end up being "the one" after all.
I want to share a recent experience where my life intersected with someone else's life, and it all happened over the phone. It seems that God had a message for me to give and, in turn, I was provided with the help that I needed for this website/blog. I had gotten to the point with the development of this website that it was as far as I could go by myself. I just didn't have the know-how to do what I needed to get done. I also knew that I needed help to market the blog. I pretty much got the message from God that it wasn't going to happen through my own endeavors. One day I hit the "hire a professional" button, and I scheduled an appointment with a guy named Adam Levine from New York. Yes, his name is really Adam Levine (of course not the Adam Levine from Maroon 5).
I was able to talk to Adam for about 45 minutes. He had read my blog and gave me great advice. He was the quintessential New Yorker and salesman. I enjoyed that interaction with him. He was fun and outgoing. In order to get done what I needed to get done, I would have to sign a contract for 12 months for about $275/month. I had to really think about that because Mark was about to lose his job. Should I spend money on this blog for that timeframe? I told Adam I would get back to him in a couple days and give him my answer. The night before I needed to tell Adam my decision, I had an experience which I documented in the blog post "Fear is a Liar." What I didn't share with you in that post is the other prayer that I had that Tuesday morning.
The experience I had that morning during my devotional was to confirm to me that I was called and chosen to write. But I still had the question about whether or not to hire this firm to help me promote the blog (I may be trying to promote this blog, but I will never monetize it). In the shower that morning I was praying to God to give me that answer. Very clearly I heard these words: "ask for Amy." I said to myself "I guess that's a yes." Later that day, I went to this company's website and sure enough, they have an Amy working there. I just smiled to myself and thought that God is my story again.
Though Amy was not assigned to me as my account rep, I did eventually ask for her and was able to work with her about a month later on the design for my website. When we finally connected on the phone, I went through all the points I had written down to talk to her about. After we discussed all my questions, there was one last thing I shared with Amy. I let her know that God is not only in my story, but He's in her story as well; that God is aware of her and her wonderful talents, and the answer I received to a prayer was to ask specifically for her. I believe that she was pleasantly surprised by my comments, and she let me know that she was going to share our conversation that night with her husband. Our stories intersected that day, and I was able to share with Amy a message from God.
There is no doubt that relationships are from God. Admittedly, there are a few people that I wish had never intersected with my life. Elder Maxwell shared: "I am one who likes to know of happy ironies and happy intersectings. There are many intersectings, of course, that are not happy." With 20/20 hindsight, I can now look back on even those not-so-happy intersectings and know that they were for my good and for my growth. All of the people that we meet and the events that take place in our lives are not just serendipitous happenstances or coincidences. All of these events have a divine purpose. I will say it again - God is truly in the details of the details of our lives.
I have come to understand that every intersecting, every interaction with someone else has a purpose, and that I should not waste these people-opportunities. In a book titled Visions of Glory the author writes: "what am I to learn from these interactions, from this person's entry or exit on the stage of my experience? I began to pray that God would reveal these things to me and that He would guide me to bless these people, rather than letting me wander unknowingly through their lives. My prayer has become, 'let me be your voice, let me be your hands, let me be knowingly involved so that I can be inspired to do thy work in their lives.'"
What a beautiful sentiment. I pray that I, too, will be more intentional in my relationships and more in tune with the Spirit to know how to bless others as God continues to govern the intersections of my life.