Coincidence, Not

Last night, temperatures outside dropped below 10 Celsius. As of right now, it is still freezing and almost all my warm clothing is either packed away in the basement already or in Singapore. I guess I didn't anticipate still being here in October and therefore didn't pack accordingly. In fact there are countless things that I did not anticipate- and I always wonder why they've turned out the way they did? 

Obviously, nothing happens by chance since God orders our lives. 

It wasn't by chance that our move got delayed for over a month, that certain people came into my life in the past few weeks, or even that we got flea-attacked recently. 

The question is, why though?

There are some things which God has been gracious to reveal to me the purposes behind His ways. But other things just leave me puzzled yet wondering. Perhaps the answer lies in the next month, year, decade... never? Who knows? 

I am not fretting about not knowing. I am just ruminating on how perfect God's will is. Even in not revealing His ways to me, He shows infinite wisdom. Nothing is hidden from His sight. Yet I can't help but be curious. No matter how I try to guess what God may be up to, the true answer always blows me away. 

In each circumstance, God demonstrates a "multi-faceted" goodness. 

To illustrate better, I'll share an example: 

When I found out that our move would get delayed for about five weeks, I was kind of disappointed. I was ready to get out into the world and September seemed like the perfect time. Yet this is the good that has resulted from the delay... 

Firstly, the five weeks of limbo time has afforded me a rare opportunity to soak in the Word and spend intimate time in prayer with God. Not having anything to do all day really enabled me to focus on Jesus in my thoughts. Most days I really felt like I was thinking about Him all day long. As a result, God's been able to work growth in me and to use me for His various purposes. 

Secondly, a silent prayer/sadness of mine was that if I left in September, I would probably not be able to see fall and enjoy cool weather anymore. Well, God definitely answered that one!

Thirdly, I had the opportunity to meet more Christian friends. Not only have they helped me grow, but I know that God is also using me in their lives- even if it's in a small way. 

Fourthly, the delay gave me more time to think about what I want to do when I go back to SG. Better to think while I'm in the US than in SG- so that my family doesn't think I'm just bumming!

So as you can see, in God's wisdom, this situation reaped goodness in many facets of my life. I am sure that there are a multitude of other reasons, but I do not know them all... yet. All I know is, God is good, ALL THE TIME! Even when things don't make sense, He still works for the good of those who love Him.