Have you ever had an experience that changed how you thought about things? I used to believe in coincidences, but that changed one night when I was a teenager and it was a little scary.
It happened during one of the times when my parents were separated. So, it was just Mom and myself in the house. Since my grandparents lived next door to us, I felt little more secure without my dad being there. If anything had happened, I knew my papaw would be there for us.
Now, when I was a kid, I wasn’t a good sleeper at all. So, when I woke up in the middle of the night, I wasn’t that surprised. But the more I laid in bed, the colder I became. While it was a cold winter’s night, the house was rather warm when we went to bed thanks to our space heaters. Even though I was snuggled in my blankets, I still couldn’t get warm. Finally, I got up and stood in front of the heater that sat outside of my room. I warmed up some, but nowhere near enough. At this point, I was getting aggravated, so I backed up more than I should’ve. That’s when I felt the heater’s hot metal face plate burn into the back of my leg.
I gave out a yelp, but it didn’t wake up my mom. As I hobbled to her room, I called out: “Mom!” She asked: “What’s wrong?” After I told her, she said: “Turn the light on so I can look at your leg.” I did. About the time I laid my burnt leg across her bed, we heard tires squalling against the pavement. Then we heard the roar of a car engine as it sped down the road. Obviously, my turning on the light scared away somebody or somebodies who, as Mamaw Jo would say, was up to no good outside of our house.
The next morning, we didn’t find any evidence where somebody was trying to break into our house. Neither did Mamaw and Papaw. Now their house was a lot closer to the road than ours. Also, there were a few vehicles and three minibuses sitting out in the driveway. My grandparents were bus contractors for Knox County. My mom thought whoever it was may have been trying to steal gas. Maybe she was right, but we never had anything like that happen again.
“The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” Proverbs 16:33 (KJV)
After I heard the car speed off up the road, I knew my getting up wasn’t by chance or a lucky coincidence. Rather it was God’s perfect timing as a way to protect my family.

“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3 (KJV)
The one or ones that were up to no good probably thought that they could get away with it since it was night time and they wouldn’t be seen. News flash! The Lord knows all and sees all regardless if you’re doing something good or evil.
Last Sunday morning. a lady with her arms full was walking up the steps in front of me as I was making my way to my Sunday School class. When she reached the top platform, she stopped and looked at the door. With a pitcher of water, another of ice, paper plates, and forks in her hands, there was no way she could open the door. Of course, I opened it for her. As she walked by me, she said: “Thank you so much. That was prefect timing.”

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.