I almost didn’t go to the meeting that day. It was on the other side of Sydney and I was tired. Yet, I loved the women I knew would be present. They are all very committed Christian leaders from different denominations who are doing amazing things in our city and nation and even internationally. I knew I would come home inspired, so off I went.
After arriving, I chatted with several women sitting nearby and was interested to hear the main speaker, but felt too tired to engage in any deep conversation as we later mingled over lunch. I was happy to stand back and observe, until a friend noticed me and announced: ‘Oh, I was just talking about you and your books yesterday to a friend!’ However tired I was, I couldn’t let an intriguing statement like that go, so enquired further.
It turned out her friend is the librarian at a large Christian school. While chatting at a swimming carnival, my friend had mentioned she knew me. Her librarian friend had then told her they had had trouble getting copies of my books for their library.
If anything is destined to grab my attention, it is a comment like that. You see, while bookstores might run out of copies of my books or decide not to stock them, I always have adequate supplies. How frustrating it is then when I hear that potential customers can’t source them! I therefore hastily asked my friend the librarian’s name so I could contact her and let her know her quest was over.
On arriving home, I decided to email her straight away, despite my tiredness, explaining how my books are available via my website and that I would also be happy to visit her school. I prayed something would come of our contact, but admittedly not with any great confidence.
The next day, I received an urgent email from a minister’s wife from the other side of town. She had chosen to review one of my novels at a women’s breakfast that coming weekend. She had tried to get hold of twenty copies to sell there but the bookstore had sent her the wrong book and had none of the right book in stock anyway. Did I have the copies she needed, she asked.
Later that day, she phoned. I had offered to take the books to her workplace and soon discovered this was at the same school as the librarian whom I had previously emailed.
‘That’s how I knew to contact you,’ she told me. ‘I was telling the staff about my dilemma when the other librarian mentioned your email to her.’
In the end, I was invited to attend the women’s breakfast myself, talk about my own book, then sell them! And I did—nineteen copies of that particular novel, plus a few others. All this came about because I ‘happened’ to go to a meeting I almost backed out of and ‘happened’ to talk with a friend there who had ‘happened’ to speak to her librarian friend who ‘happened’ to be able to tell her colleague I had supplies of my books!
Do you think God had a hand in all this? I do! After all, in Isaiah 55:8-9, God tells us:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
I’d rather have God’s thoughts and God’s ways any day, wouldn’t you?
Wow! That’s amazing. I love hearing stories like this 🙂
I love hearing them too, Melissa–and of course experiencing them! Thanks for your comment. God bless.
Jo-Anne, God is good…
Yes, that’s so true, Ian–even when we can’t quite see it in our lives, don’t you think? God’s ways sure are higher than ours–that’s all I can say. God bless!
[…] Recommended Article FROM https://joanneberthelsen.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/who-would-have-thought/ […]
Thanks for recommending my blog post/article on your own site. God bless!
Wow, Therese, six grandchildren all in the one night! I can just imagine God smiling at you as you sit in the middle of that lovely group of children. I pray it all goes smoothly for you–I’m sure you will all have so much fun! And lovely they can all be at the Christening the next day too. This week we will have our nephew and his wife and three little boys staying with us for a few days, so we’ll have lots of little ones around too. So glad you will get to see your grandchildren like though. And thank you so much for your lovely comments about my last blog. God bless!
Hi Jo-Anne, Thank you for your blog, it was very encouraging reminding me of all the times these happenings have happened in my life for instance buying your book “Soul Friend” that day. I love the way you write so personally, I feel like I am talking to you. You know how you love having your little Grandson over, I was feeling like I was missing out not having caught up with my many Grandchildren due to being sick but the Lord knows my heart, my son Andrew rang yesterday and asked us to have their three children on Saturday and over night and then another son Ryan rang today and asked us to have their three also on Saturday and over night so now their will be six staying the night and then we are all going to the Christening of our youngest son Kieran’s baby Heidi-Anne on Sunday. I feel so blessed and am so looking forward to the weekend now with all those beautiful children aged two to ten. God bless, Therese
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2013 21:11:34 +0000 To: theresecondron@hotmail.com
This is a great story Jo-Anne. Reminds me of something I heard in our Esther study last night: “Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous”!
Thanks, Kathy! And I love that definition of coincidence! Must remember it. God bless!