Coincidence? I Think Not!

My husband is a photographer by trade and has a special passion for landscape photography, so we've visited a number of National Parks lately. But of all the beautiful pictures he's taken recently, the picture above stands out as one of my favorites.

On a recent Saturday, my husband and I started the day in Jackson, Wyoming at a 5:30 am sunrise photo shoot of the Grand Tetons. This shoot was at the tail end of a wonderful trip to see our extended family in Montana. Because we love National Parks so much, we couldn't resist stopping at both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons on our way home.

The sunrise that morning was truly beautiful, and the chilly 32 degrees didn't give us an opportunity to feel very tired. After catching every bit of good light we could get, we said goodbye to the Tetons and decided to head home - all the way home. It would mean over 1000 miles of straight driving. Our goal was to drive as far as we could for the rest of the day in hopes of making it home to sleep in our own bed. We knew it would be a long, uncomfortable day in the car, but we thought it was worth a try.

For the most part, our drive south went rather smoothly, except for a 30-minute unplanned detour near Salt Lake City and the anxiety of dodging furniture in the road outside of St. George, Utah. By the time we entered Las Vegas that evening, we felt it would be silly to stop and decided to try to make the additional four-hour drive home.

We knew we needed something to eat, especially since coming up was a long, lonely stretch of dark desert. Deciding an In-N-Out shake might make our last few hours a little more enjoyable, we pulled off the freeway. The crowded, but quickly moving, traffic on the freeway made us completely unprepared for the gridlock we encountered at the bottom of the off-ramp. Bumper-to-bumper cars warned us that In-N-Out wasn't going to be a quick stop. Not to be deterred from our ultimate goal, my husband deftly maneuvered our Subaru back onto the freeway. There wasn't any ice cream in the world that was worth this kind of delay.

We quickly realized that stopping in Las Vegas would put us too far behind to make it home before fatigue caught up with us. So, we decided we would make a stop for food in Primm, Nevada. We had eaten at a Carl's Jr. there on our way up north and figured the traffic would be lighter there.

We both felt like zombies as we pulled off the freeway in Primm. Not enough food and too much time in the car had wiped us out. So, you can imagine how startled I was when my husband shook me from my stupor by shouting, "Oh my GOODNESS!" My eyes were so blurry from being in the car so long that I couldn't quite comprehend what he was yelling about. All I could see were two people walking to their car. Two people who looked oddly familiar.

When I realized who I was seeing, I jumped out of the car before my husband fully stopped the vehicle just to verify what I saw - my Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe.

It took everyone a few minutes to stop hugging and get over our shock. We never, ever expected to see each other at a fast food restaurant so far from both our homes.

Even though we had all driven up north together, we all came home separately. Linda and Joe had planned to explore Zion National Park, as we zoomed south on I-15. We never even thought to check up on each other to see where the other was. We assumed they were in Zion, they assumed we were somewhere photographing landscapes and wildlife.

God is funny that way. I think He knew we were all exhausted from our long trip and that we would get a kick out of seeing each other.

By the way, Linda and Joe were this Carl's Jr.'s last customers that evening. We caught them just as they were walking to their car with their food. So, we all went to the still-open McDonald's next door. They ate their Carl's Jr. while we ate our McDonald's - laughing and so glad to see each other.

So, the picture above is pretty special to me. Of two people I love. Eating Carl's Jr. At a McDonald's. In Primm, Nevada.

Nahum 1:7 reminds us that God is good; He cares for those who trust in Him. Sometimes God's goodness is seen in a kind word, or a beautiful glimpse of nature. We can always see it in His Word, the Bible. And sometimes we see God's goodness and care in a McDonald's. In Primm, Nevada.

Heavenly Father,
Thank You SO much for Your goodness to us. Thanks for the fun surprises You sometimes allow our way. Thank You for this tangible reminder that You see and You care for those who trust in You. Open our eyes to see the good things that You are doing in our midst each day.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen