Instant Help!

Of all the many different coincidences which I have recorded in over 50 private notebooks for more than 30 years, my favourites are those which have occurred after I have prayed for help. For example: My friend Sheila was on her annual weekend visit to Ayr, where she and her late husband had spent happy holidays. As we drove to Culzean Country Park, she told me her sad news: of her mastectomy, chemotherapy, and then the recent death of her mother-in-law. In fact, she had attended the funeral in Newcastle as she was en route to Ayr from Middlesex, where she works for SENSE, the charity for the deaf-blind. Sheila herself is profoundly deaf and has impaired vision. Because I do not know sign language she "listens" to my responses by placing her fingers on my throat while peering closely at my lips. That is why, arriving at the Park tearoom, we sat down side by side so that she could make out my response to her request. She wanted me to collect her from her hotel the next morning so that we could attend Sunday worship at Alloway Church, then have lunch at the adjacent Burns' Centre, where she would buy souvenirs. But I had other commitments, so that was impossible. Distressed at the thought of her lonely Sunday, I prayed for help. Suddenly three ladies sat down opposite us. One immediately began to "speak" to Sheila in sign language. Astonished, I learned that she too: was called Sheila, worked for SENSE, had come to Ayr for the weekend from Newcastle, intended to attend Alloway Church the next morning, have lunch at the Burns' Centre and buy souvenirs! She immediately offered to take Sheila with her. Delighted at this wonderful cluster of coincidences, I put up another prayer - of thanksgiving! Footnote: I have written a book, Joyful Witness, about such striking and comforting coincidences.