Serendipity

I have a story to share that some will undoubtedly find too lacking in credibility to believe…in fact, I see it as no less than a miracle. Whether others do not, well, that isn’t the point. It is an example of serendipity.
My mother had been praying, asking for intercession as to what should be done with my father. My father, as Wesley shared in a previous entry, is terminally ill (lung cancer) and checked into a hospital earlier this week. Our next steps hinged on what the Chief Pulmonologist of the hospital would say, whether he would have to make an invasive test or not. Both my parents wanted to do the right thing, but were unsure whether the test was the right way to go and whether it would provide new information or insights into the experience. My mother asked for help and guidance in her prayers.
Without going into too much detail, on Thursday night, the chief of pulmonology came into my father hospital room. He was Nicaraguan. As he chatted with my parents, discussing the options, especially some particularly unwanted ones that involved a bronchoscopy, my mother asked him, “You’re from Nicaragua?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“My grandfather was from Nicaragua and moved to Panama. His name was Mayorga and his family lives in the town of Leon.”

“Really? I know that family! They are well-known!” This seemed to break the ice, so to speak. It set my mom at ease, and my father, too.

Later as my mother reflected on the conversation, tears came to her eyes and her voice quavered. She felt that God had stepped in for her. I had to point out that only God COULD have stepped in on this situation. Consider that my great-grandfather on my mother’s side was Nicaraguan, something I had NOT known until she told me Friday morning. And, that the chief of Pulmonology for the hospital we were at–a destination decided upon by the ambulance driver in the early morning hours on Thursday–also was a Nicaraguan who knew the Mayorga family…and who happened to control the fate of my father in regards to achieving desired outcome.

Well, one could chalk it up as mere coincidence, but my mom and I choose not to. Serendipity is the hand of God at work in the world, more than just coincidence. May you receive this story in the spirit it was intended.