Coincidence?

Have you ever pondered the idea of coincidences? Do people just happen to show up in the same place at the same time? Do you just happen to hear exactly what you need to hear when you need to hear it? Or is there no such thing as a coincidence? If this is the case then everything happens for a reason. No person comes into your life, no word is spoken, that in some way or another was meant for you.

These experiences can be so powerful when you recognize them for what they are. Isn't it so comforting to know that people are in your life for a reason? Every person we associate with will affect us in some way. I believe that there is no such thing as a coincidence. Coincidences imply that events are completely random, with no power behind them whatsoever.

I think David Bednar said it best when he related this story in General Conference:

Some time ago I spoke with a priesthood leader who was prompted to memorize the names of all of the youth ages 13 to 21 in his stake. Using snapshots of the young men and women, he created flash cards that he reviewed while traveling on business and at other times. This priesthood leader quickly learned all of the names of the youth.

One night the priesthood leader had a dream about one of the young men whom he knew only from a picture. In the dream he saw the young man dressed in a white shirt and wearing a missionary name tag. With a companion seated at his side, the young man was teaching a family. The young man held the Book of Mormon in his hand, and he looked as if he were testifying of the truthfulness of the book. The priesthood leader then awoke from his dream.

At an ensuing priesthood gathering, the leader approached the young man he had seen in his dream and asked to talk with him for a few minutes. After a brief introduction, the leader called the young man by name and said: “I am not a dreamer. I have never had a dream about a single member of this stake, except for you. I am going to tell you about my dream, and then I would like you to help me understand what it means.”

The priesthood leader recounted the dream and asked the young man about its meaning. Choking with emotion, the young man simply replied, “It means God knows who I am.” The remainder of the conversation between this young man and his priesthood leader was most meaningful, and they agreed to meet and counsel together from time to time during the following months.

That young man received the Lord’s tender mercies through an inspired priesthood leader. I repeat again, the Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lord’s timing helps us to recognize them.

We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

God knows each of us by name. He knows our struggles and our weaknesses. He knows when we have simply had enough, and it is in these moments that he speaks to us through his tender mercies. The "coincidences" in our lives do not happen by chance, they happen because a loving father wants them to happen. So next time you hear someone say something that seems to fit too perfectly, don't just credit it to chance, credit your Father in heaven, for it is him who gave you that moment of wonder and peace.