No coincidences

We recently received this message in response to an ad we posted on Craigslist:

Hello!

  Thanks for getting back to me ..So let's do like this, actually now
I'm not in town for now, I came to visit my son so i wont be able to
meet with you but am ok with the price as seen on the advert, I'll
proceed in issuing a Check out to you and when you received the check
, I will make arrangement for pick-up. So get back to me with below
details asap.

Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Postal Code:
Phone Number:
Total amount for the item:

And as soon as this is provided, the payment will be overnight to you
and i will let you know when its mailed out. I need you to be honest
with the sale as I am a God fearing person.

Thanks

God Bless.

So I responded with a message of my own (but don't tell The Good Doctor as he has banned me from emailing people I don't know even if they message me first):

Hello!

  Thanks for getting back to me ..So let's do like this, actually now
I'm not in town for now, either - what co-inky-dinc. I came to visit my son, too, so i wont be able to
meet with you but am ok with the price you are agreeing to as seen on the advert, I'll
proceed in giving out all my personal information out to you after you send me your contact info so I can report it to the craigslist offenders websites. So get back to me with below
details asap.

Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Postal Code (we generally call it a zip code in these parts, your son would know that):
Phone Number:
Total amount of times you've tried to con folks:

And as soon as this is provided, and if you are indeed a God-fearing man, I will first of all apologize and then I will gladly accept your cash when we meet at a mutually agreeable location. I promise I'll be as honest
with the sale as you are as I am also a God fearing person - funny, another co-inky-dinc.

Thanks

God Bless.


Funny, he never got back to me but we did sell the item to an actual God fearing man who was very honest and paid in cash with no need to exchange personal identifying information.

But contrary to my response and as you probably remember, I really don't believe in co-inky-dincs. Since Victor's diagnosis, God has placed the most amazing people in our path.

Recently we had a concert for a local Lion's Club. I will admit to going to this concert with a bad attitude; I had been at a conference all day and rather than meet more people I just wanted to go home. But off to the concert I went and I told part of Victor's story as I often do. After the concert we were approached by a woman who said, "Would you like to meet someone who is an advocate for the blind and who has worked with them for many years?"  Would I? Absolutely. It turns out that this man, blind himself, was the featured speaker earlier in the evening. He ran a school for the blind out of state for many years, is now retired and travels around speaking and advocating for guide dogs for the blind.  The children and I had a wonderful conversation with him and learned his perspective on several topics common to the blind.

And just last week I received an email from a woman who found this blog through a website called WonderBaby where I had submitted an article. She is blind herself, and a teacher of the blind. She asked if she could send some Braille pictures for Victor. Of course! Today, those pictures arrived in the mail and I'm excited to figure out a way to display them in his room.

So many God-orchestrated moments!